Headline: The Coal Rush and Beyond: A Workshop on Coal Contestation and Advocacy

The workshop addresses issues of energy transition over two days. The first day - Contesting New Coal - present the results of The Coal Rush and Beyond, a 3-year, international, interdisciplinary research project. The research focuses on opposition to the expansion of coal mining in India, Germany and Australia, drawing on ethnographies conducted in each country, in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh, in Lausitz in Eastern Germany, and on Australia’s Liverpool Plains.

The research brings together accounts of these local struggles with analysis of their place in the global commodity chain, the role of the state in promoting coal extraction and coal-fired power, and national and international climate policies. The contestation of coal, we argue, politicises and democratises energy, transforming the meaning of coal as a commodity, and creating new constituencies and drivers for change. Drawing on a draft book manuscript, Day 1 reflects on these developments, and considers the lessons learned for the future of climate politics and climate action.

The second day - Advocacy for Energy Transitions – focuses on the socio-political dynamics for a decisive shift in energy policy, away from reliance on coal to varying forms of renewable energy. The workshop seeks to explore and map the landscape of advocacy for energy transition, across different national contexts, and in the process chart dynamics for social agency under climate transformations.

We aim to maintain a comparative lens, encompassing contrasting developmentalisms and related socio-political blocs, visions and dynamics. In particular, we are keen to bring together perspectives from academic researchers, policy networks, activists, NGOs and other civil society formations – who are researching on, or advocating for transition.

The Coal Rush and Beyond: A Workshop on Coal Contestation and Advocacy
Chair: Tom Morton

When?
Mon., 13/11/2017, 9:00 pm – Tue., 14/11/2017, 5:30 pm

Where?

Institute For Advanced Sustainability Studies e.V., Berliner Straße 130, 14467 Potsdam

We hope the workshop will generate momentum for further comparative and collaborative research on the socio-political dynamics of energy transition.

You can register here.