Session 7(b): Back to the Basics
10th Global Conference
Friday 8th July 2011 – Sunday 10th July 2011
Mansfield College, Oxford, United Kingdom
Rethinking Things: A call to let things speak in the new political ecology
Steven Gans
APUS American Public University, USA
I argue that environmentalism is the problem, which it purports to cure. By viewing non-humans as mere “environment”, humans perpetuate the assumption that things are a storehouse for consumption. As such, things are seen as “there” to be transformed into the ready availability of supply to feed our demand. An illustration of this is the movement to digitalize everything, so that all products and services become instantly downloadable with the click of a mouse.
The core assumption of environmentalism is Correlationism. Correlationism is the Ptolemaic counter-revolution of contemporary thought. Contrary to the thinking of Kant, Heidegger and Wittgenstein, (the key Correlationists), things must be thought otherwise than as conditioned by consciousness, world and language. This is the thesis of Quentin Meillassoux in his seminal work After Finitude: An Essay on the Necessity of Contingency.
By suspending Correlationism we collapse the Platonic two-house theory, which has kept Science (“knowledge”) in control of Politics (“opinion”). The scientific stranglehold on politics forecloses the possibility of a democratic, responsible and just political ecology (Bruno Labour).
In order to move toward a cosmo-political ecology where the voices of vibrant matter have their say, we need learn to listen to the interests of the things themselves. As Jane Bennett says “we need to devise new procedures, technologies and regimes of perception that enable us to consult non-humans more closely and to listen and to respond more carefully to their outbreaks, objectives, testimonies and propositions.” (Vibrant Matter: A Political Ecology of Things)
Rethinking things is a call for the re-assembly of our collective, so that the passionate interests of humans and the vibrant interests of non-humans can co-create an evolutionary advance for the planet. I conclude with some practical suggestions for this program.
Download Draft Conference Paper (pdf)
The role of decentralised energy in delivering ‘just sustainability’ in Northern European Cities – a review of theory and practice
Elaine Morrison
University of Dundee, Scotland
There are a number of justifications for approaching sustainable energy issues at the urban scale with the main rationale focussing on population density resulting in concentrations of carbon emissions and therefore their suitability for neighbourhood and city-wide distributed generation of sustainable energy. As well as the potential this gives for cutting carbon emissions through a transition to a decarbonised energy system, the benefits of such an approach could also positively impact on redressing issues of social and environmental justice through the concept of ‘just sustainability’.
This paper therefore is concerned with the role of decentralised urban energy systems and achieving just sustainability objectives in the northern European context.. It argues that whilst existing approaches to planning for decentralised energy may be successful in achieving their ex-ante stated objectives (be it economic development, reducing carbon emissions or alleviating fuel poverty); they could achieve greater overall and long-term impact by developing objectives that deliver a broad just-sustainability agenda through the transition to decarbonised, decentralised energy systems. The approach taken focuses on a review of policy and practice relating to decentralised urban energy systems in a north European context, and develops a typology of representative initiatives by identifying different aims and objectives, scales, models of governance and outcomes. This is further illustrated by case studies of two decentralised energy initiatives – one in north east Scotland and one in south east Sweden. The paper concludes that there is a significant gap in the research linking technological solutions to sustainable energy supplies with the delivery of a sustainable and just society, and that further research is required to develop theory and praxis to deliver trans-generational sustainability and resilience through a just transition to decarbonised, decentralised urban energy systems.
Download Draft Conference Paper (pdf)
Copenhagen failure and North-South dynamics
Teea Kortetmaki
University of Jyväskylä, Finland
The North-South clash plays a crucial role in climate negotiations, forming agreement-preventing obstacles between developed and developing countries. These barriers contain eg. questions about South’s right to financial compensation and fair burden-sharing in emission mitigation. this paper, I present the main results of my master’s thesis in which I analyzed the most important Copenhagen Climate Convention’s speeches, in relation to the mentioned obstacles and the clash between North and South. Analyzed speeches include the United States, China, the Climate Group, the African Union and Zimbabwe. I will argue that the tension concerning development issues is evident in the speeches and that the “Copenhagen failure” was built already in these speeches. conclusion I shall discuss how this kind of rhetorical analysis provides understanding that can help the opposite sides to converge in their opinions and researchers to approach the North-South dynamics from rhetorical viewpoint.
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