On March 7 and 8, the European Union Center, along with the Center for Advanced Study, hosted the SMAART Symposium on Climate Justice and Climate Futures. This symposium brought together scholars and practitioners from the United States and Europe to facilitate dialogue and exchange ideas about how we are, or perhaps are not, addressing climate change and climate justice in our local communities, in our countries, and in our world. There was a total of five panels, but this blog post highlights the discussions from the third panel, which featured Dr. Matt Soener, Assistant Professor of Sociology at UIUC, Dr. Andy Jonas, Professor of Human Geography at University of Hull (UK), and Dr. Jamie Jones, Associate Professor of English at UIUC.
Taken holistically, this panel invited the audience to think about the long-term costs of growth, and what happens when (industrial) growth leaves communities. The panel started off with a presentation from Dr. Soener, who argued that economic growth is fetishized to the point where such an obsession prevents us from seeing alternative paths forward to move out of the main problem we face today—stagnation. Dr. Soener makes mention of how the Global South faces rising emissions, especially as a result of IMF conditionality regarding austerity measures, yet still faces stagnation, challenging dreams of “green growth.” Dr. Soener ultimately argues for the addressing of specific conditions of accumulation and reminds us to ask exactly who fetishized growth benefits.Dr. Andy Jonas then led a presentation on structurally disadvantaged cities, which are post-industrial cities that have faced a long-term decline after industry left. These resource- and export- dependent cities have then had to figure out ways in which to revive their economies. Drawing on a comparative study between various cities in Europe, including Hull (United Kingdom), Dr. Jonas finds that structurally disadvantaged port cities have become leaders in investment in offshore wind renewables as a way to reinvigorate their economies. This tendency to look to alternative forms of renewable energy has led to the formation of urban “climate alliances” but not activism. Dr. Jonas argues that a “circular economy” has emerged in such places and seeks to “fill in the gaps.” Each story of post-industrial economic adaptation is unique, however. Place, Dr. Jonas argues, matters.
Dr. Jamie Jones then finished out the panel with an examination of offshoring practices in Nantucket and how it has faced challenges from Nantucket residents who are particularly attached to the whaling heritage of Nantucket. Nantucket is often a vacation destination where the “illusion of isolation” is a part of its culture. Embedded in this culture too is a history of whale oil production and although whaling has since died out, residents of Nantucket still cling to this productive industrial period of their past. This attachment has led to intense resistance to offshore wind turbines in the name of protecting the whales. Dr. Jones ultimately argues that cultural histories shape perceptions of environmental change and presents Nantucket as an interesting case study in exactly that.
This symposium was made possible by the European Union Center’s funding as a Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence through the project SMAART: Sustainable Methods for Adapting and Adopting Regional Technologies. It is generously co-sponsored by the Climate | Change Research Initiative at the Center for Advanced Study at UIUC.
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