John Barry: Just(ice) Transformations in the Anthropocene: Conflict Transformation and the Role and Responsibility of Academia in Democratically Navigating Pathways to Post-Carbon and Post-Growth Futures

John Barry, Professor of Green Political Economy in the Centre for Sustainability, Equality and Climate Action at Queens University Belfast, will give his presentation on the need to bring together the literature on conflict transformation and energy transitions and examine the role and responsibility of academia during times of a planetary crisis.

Kate Flood & Aoife Kirk: Just Transition and Irish peatlands: fostering transformative ecological, economic, and socio-cultural relationships with peatland landscapes

Dr. Kate Flood, EPA researcher, and Aoife Kirk, project coordinator of Connecting Communities with Peatlands, will explore the cultural context and experiences of communities in the midlands regions of Ireland as they transition from extracting peat systems to more regenerative models. These transitions require ‘social-ecological’ investment and resourcing, both for the scientific aspects of peatland restoration, rewetting and conservation and the relational networks that are crucial to building the collaborative communities, cultures and economies of the future.

Kieran Harrahill: A farmer centred approach to understanding Ireland’s bioeconomy in the context of just transition.

Kieran Harrahill, senior researcher at TASC and PhD candidate, will give an give a background to Just Transition with relevance to the agricultural sector in Ireland, introduce bioeconomy production processes that reduce society’s reliance on fossil fuels, and give an overview of The People’s Transition initiative, led by TASC.