Social-science and humanities (SSH) research is crucial for informing ambitious, effective, just or societally acceptable climate action. This session highlights how SSH insights on social metabolism, labor transitions, perceptions and societal readiness, institutional dynamics, justice, needs/capabilities, and power relations can enrich and reshape diverse modeling approaches. We aim to provide a platform for interdisciplinary work that broadens the scope of what models and scenarios can represent, clarifies their limits, and fosters connections across methods.

We welcome contributions that:

Integrate SSH concepts and methods into integrated assessment models (IAMs), energy–economy–environment models, or other analytical frameworks

Use empirical and participatory approaches to inform model assumptions, structures, and constraints

Engage with normative dimensions such as fairness, feasibility, and societal acceptance

Connect justice issues to marginalized or disadvantaged communities, especially in the Global South

Address the role of governance, institutions, finance, and critically evaluate material and human needs in shaping transition pathways

Investigate social impacts of modeled scenarios (e.g., income, labor, or demand modeling)

We particularly encourage work that incorporates procedural, recognitional, transitional and other forms of justice, identifies how data gaps map onto justice gaps, and provides bi-directional feedback between social science and modeling communities. By convening these perspectives, the session seeks to advance interdisciplinary approaches that make climate and energy scenarios more relevant, inclusive, and impactful.