Both the imperative and the challenges of socioecological transformation are well documented. Most states around the world have set goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and strategies for reaching “net zero”. Despite the growth in the array of institutional, political and scientific resources dedicated to tackling these problems - or perhaps precisely because of it – political contestation around sustainability transformation persists around the world at the international, state and local levels and is manifested in various ways. There are disagreements on whethersustainability is a relevant aim but also on what priority it should be awarded, how it should be approached, and who is responsible for determining and implementing policies and measures.
This panel will discuss the implications of contestation for sustainability transformation. It will open a space for the critical assessment of the opportunities and implications of contestation around the transformation of societies, and in particular its impact for democratic politics. Invited panellists will discuss: What are the main sites and objects of disagreement in the politics of sustainability?
Should contestation be decried as a sign of political impasse or welcomed as an indicator of a healthy democracy and a mechanism for (re)politicisation? Who is empowered by contestation and who is excluded by means of its repression? How is contestation informed and shaped by scientific expertise, democratic deliberation and the imagination?
The panel will bring together respected scholars on climate and environmental politics.
Speakers:
Eva Lövbrand (Linköping University, Sweden), Anabela Carvalho (University of Minho, Portugal), Daniel Hausknost (WU Vienna, Austria), Ari Elmeri Hyvönen (University of Jyväskylä,Finland), Amanda Machin (UiA), Alexander Ruser (UiA), Chaired by Fabio Schojan (UiA)
Everyone welcome to join! Event in English. No registration needed.
This event is hosted by the Sociological Theory and Analysis Research Group