Culture and Decarbonisation

Centre for Sustainability,Equality&Climate Action

Culture and Decarbonisation: Desire, Subjectivities and Lifestyle Changes in the High-Carbon Past and Low-Carbon Future

Queen's University Belfast - Canada Room and Council Chamber

Can culture serve as a catalyst for decarbonisation? In the scramble for carbon neutrality and a post-carbon future, the question of culture is often side-lined even within discussions of behaviour and lifestyle changes. However, culture shapes our desires, habits and expectations, which have direct bearings on the carbon intensity of our society. If our past obsession with an energy-intensive lifestyle was grounded in a high-carbon culture—such as petroculture—societal decarbonisation would then entail some form of culture change. We may also argue that ambitious decarbonisation goals, expressed by diverse bodies including commercial organisations, national and municipal governments, are premised on drastic lifestyle changes in which cultural change would be implicit. Does the implied link between culture and decarbonisation mean that culture can lead our journey to a post-carbon future? What evidence do we have for culturally driven decarbonisation on the personal, social and global scales? In this workshop, we will discuss culture’s role in accelerating—and in some cases hindering—societal decarbonisation by bringing together researchers and practitioners that are equally concerned with the future of culture and our planet.This one-day workshop is exploratory in nature; therefore, we will employ the term culture in a broad sense, including culture as a conceptual framework (e.g., a capitalistic culture), as a form of practice (cultural activities and artistic production) and as shared values or behaviours (e.g., food or travel culture). While our focus will be to discuss culture as a driver for decarbonisation, we will also contemplate the way the ongoing decarbonisation is (re-)defining our culture. To what extent do today’s cultural activity, production and consumption depend upon the high-carbon regime, and how is the ongoing decarbonisation changing the contours of our cultural landscape?This workshop is organised by the Centre for Sustainability, Equality and Climate Action (<a href="https://www.qub.ac.uk/research-centres/SECA/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">SECA</a>), Queen’s University Belfast. Prof Imre Szeman (University of Waterloo, Canada) will deliver the keynote lecture.09.15-09.45 Arrival, tea, coffee09.45-10.00 Welcome: Prof John Barry (QUB)Introduction: Dr Hiroki Shin (QUB)10.00-11.30 Session 1: Culture and Society-Wide Action for DecarbonisationSenni Määttä (chair and intro, QUB)Amanda Slevin (QUB): &#x27;Communities as catalysts for society-wide decarbonisation&#x27;Ben McAteer (QUB): &#x27;A new research agenda: Exploring the potential of citizen science to instigate community action for sustainability&#x27;Rachael Singleton (Ulster University): &#x27;Why do we litter the places we love? Using psychology to increase pro-environmental behaviour on our beaches&#x27;11.30-11.45 Short break11.45–13.15 Session 2: Decarbonising Life: Cultural Mediations for Alternative Space and PlaceDamian McIlroy (chair and intro, QUB)Calum McGeown (QUB): ‘Post-Carbon Space-Making: Politicisation, Participation and the Eco-Social Contract’Bridget Meehan (The Northern Mutual Ltd): ‘Beyond toxic banking - A case study for Northern Mutual and economic democracy’Niamh Small (QUB): ‘Environmental Peacebuilding: Northern Ireland and the journey to a Just Transition’13.15-14.15 Lunch14.15-15.45 Session 3: Roundtable discussion on culture and decarbonisationPeter Doran (chair, QUB)John Barry (QUB)Gary Boyd (QUB)Ali FitzGibbon (QUB)Nuala Flood (QUB)Imre Szeman (University of Waterloo)15.45-16.00 Short break16.00–17.30 Keynote – Imre Szeman (University of Waterloo)17.30-19.30 Reception, featuring the artist Gawain Morrison (the <a href="https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.oghamgrove.com%2F&amp;data=04%7C01%7Ch.shin%40qub.ac.uk%7C26d59a54914846309a4808da0e59509d%7Ceaab77eab4a549e3a1e8d6dd23a1f286%7C0%7C0%7C637838074013478645%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&amp;sdata=lnf0wDqObBXoUlYJwQRqE0323a19EIDw1vwmIKItQyc%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Ogham Grove</a> project)For any enquiries regarding the event, please contact h.shin@qub.ac.uk Organisers:Hiroki Shin, John Barry, Senni Määttä and Damian McIlroy

Our {communityGuidelinesLink} describe the sort of content we prohibit on Eventbrite. If you suspect an event may be in violation, you can report it to us so we can investigate.

To report other categories of prohibited or illegal content, submit {link}

Culture and Decarbonisation

More events from Centre for Sustainability,Equality&Climate Action

Discover more events from Centre for Sustainability,Equality&Climate Action, from Community to other experiences you might love.

Still looking for the right event?

Explore all events in Belfast and filter by date, category, and more to find the perfect fit.

Culture and Decarbonisation

More events from Centre for Sustainability,Equality&Climate Action

Discover more events from Centre for Sustainability,Equality&Climate Action, from Community to other experiences you might love.

More Community events

Browse more Community events with different dates, prices, and formats to find your next great experience.

Still looking for the right event?

Explore all events in Belfast and filter by date, category, and more to find the perfect fit.