Economist Kate Raworth conferred with honorary doctorate by UCD

Ecological economist and Doughnut Economics author Kate Raworth was today awarded an honorary doctorate from UCD in recognition of her outstanding contribution to advancing the sustainability agenda. 

Known for ‘doughnut economics’, an economic model that balances essential human needs and planetary boundaries, Kate is senior associate at Oxford University’s Environmental Change Institute and a Professor of Practice at Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences.

Her internationally bestselling book Doughnut Economics was referenced in a  (opens in a new window)2020 speech by President Michael D. Higgins, who said that humanity’s “...overriding goal must be to remain within what Kate Raworth has described, ‘a safe and just space for humanity’. This means we can improve human wellbeing on a global level while simultaneously preserving the preconditions for a safe, healthy planet and the future wellbeing of its peoples.”

In his book, A Life on Our Planet, Sir David Attenborough lauded the doughnut model as our “compass” towards sustainability. 

The theory behind 'Doughnut economics' consists of two concentric rings: a social foundation - to ensure that no one is left falling short on life's essentials - and an ecological ceiling, to ensure that humanity does not collectively overshoot the planetary boundaries that protect Earth's life-supporting systems. Between these two sets of boundaries lies a doughnut-shaped space that is both ecologically safe and socially just; a space in which, the theory says, humanity can thrive.

Kate received her honorary doctorate in Economic Science as part of the conferring of the first cohort of the BSc in Sustainability at UCD. She also gave a sold-out public lecture, Doughnut Economics - from concept to practice,  in UCD on the afternoon of the conferring (see video above).