Arctic just transition: project notes

I just returned from Denmark after ten busy days spent at Skalling Laboratory in Southwestern Denmark and at Copenhagen Business School. It was quite surreal to land back in Oulu after the full bloom of spring in Copenhagen and to feel the touch of snowflakes. Yes, we are still in (Arctic) April!

During the first week of the trip spent at Skalling Laboratory, we discussed the research outcomes of the project Towards a socially just transition in the Arctic: Exploring, theorizing and disseminating best practice in meaningful stakeholder engagement for communities (PI Karin Buhmann): an one-pager on meaningful stakeholder engagement and a collaborative scientific article. All of this with great views included.

On April 7, I was teaching at the Arctic Academy for Sustainability in Copenhagen. With PhD students, we discussed wolves, lupines, and common pheasants, and most importantly, why more-than-human engagements matter in energy transition. To engage meaningfully, we concluded, extractive businesses must consider local landscape ties and the role of industry in these connections.

The next day, just before my departure, all students and teachers of the Academy attended the Oxfam conference “A Green and Just Transition for All: Can the Private Sector Deliver?“. Well, we were not sure it can. There still seems to be a lack of understanding of local needs and complexities from the perspective of renewable energy businesses.

I have more questions than before, but I am also more inspired and eager to work, perhaps partly because this was my first trip after parental leave. And wow, isn’t it nice not to multitask!