DECARBONIZATION

The Geopolitics of Decarbonization

The Geopolitics of Decarbonization has been identified as one of the central thematic research topics of the Mistra Geopolitics Programme. Changes in the geopolitical landscape may have far-reaching implications on the opportunities to drive sustainable development agendas. At the same time, the transitional changes that are needed to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions will have geopolitical repercussions, both due to the implications of declining fossil fuel demands, and to the consequences of development and expansion of new sources of energy and materials required for the transition.

Understanding the implications of this reconfiguration, which is already underway, touches on issues of security, human development and environmental change that are fundamental to the Programme.

01.

How can trade and finance dependencies develop?

02.

Will flows of raw materials and commodities change?

03.

Why are socially just transitions a geopolitical issue?

04.

How can technological shifts affect geopolitics?

01.

How can trade and finance dependencies develop?

02.

Will flows of raw materials and commodities change?

03.

Why are socially just transitions a geopolitical issue?

04.

How can technological shifts affect geopolitics?

HIGHLIGHTS

Selections from our recent work on decarbonization

PUBLICATIONS

Our work on decarbonization to date

01.

How can trade and finance dependencies develop?

02.

Will flows of raw materials and commodities change?

03.

Why are socially just transitions a geopolitical issue?

04.

How can technological shifts affect geopolitics?

TEAM

Meet the team working on the 'geopolitics of decarbonization' theme

Adelphi

Daria Ivleva

LTH

André Manberger

E3G

Taylor Dimsdale

SEI

Claudia Strambo

PhD student

Maria Jernnäs

Linköping University

Professor Björn-Ola Linnér

Adelphi

Dennis Tänzler

Stockholm University

Karin Bäckstrand

PhD student

Eugène Petelin

PhD student

Ebba Minas

SEI

Patricio Calles

SEI

Cleo Verkuijl

SEI

Elisa Arond

Kanin Laopirun

Kanin Laopirun

Ronan Palmer

Adelphi

Daria Ivleva

Daria Ivleva is a Senior Advisor and Co-Lead of the Climate Policy Programme at Adelphi. In Mistra Geopolitics, she works on the geopolitics of decarbonization.

Telephone:+49 (30) 8900068-76

LTH

André Manberger

André Manberger is researching how global metal flows for low carbon energy systems interact with security.

E3G

Taylor Dimsdale

Taylor Dimsdale is a Program Director at E3G in the area of Risk & Resilience. He works on several programmes including climate risk and security, the geopolitics of decarbonization, sustainable finance, and climate diplomacy. In Mistra Geopolitics, he works on the geopolitics of decarbonization.

SEI

Claudia Strambo

Claudia Strambo is a Research Fellow at Stockholm Environment Institute. Her research interests include energy transition and sustainable development policy in emerging economies, international environmental regimes, and theory of international environmental politics. In Mistra Geopolitics, she works on geopolitics of decarbonization.

Telephone:+46 70 388 2680

PhD student

Maria Jernnäs

Maria holds a master’s degree and a bachelor’s degree, both from Linköping University, Sweden. She took her master’s degree in International and European Relations and her bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science. Her research concerns the conditions for international collaboration on climate change after the 2015 Paris Agreement and focuses especially on the roles that the state has, or can have, in global climate governance, and what could shape the state’s role. In the Mistra Geopolitics programme, her work was related to Work Package 4, The Interrelationships between Shifting Geopolitical Landscapes and the SDGs. Maria was active in Phase I of Mistra Geopolitics.

Telephone:+4613282267

Linköping University

Professor Björn-Ola Linnér

Björn-Ola Linnér is the Deputy Programme Director of Mistra Geopolitics and Professor at the Centre for Climate Science and Policy Research at Linköping University. He analyses how the political processes and actors affect conditions for social changes towards sustainable development in different parts of the world. He has a long experience in research dialogues with various societal actors, such as the climate convention’s secretariat, governments, businesses and environmental organizations.

Adelphi

Dennis Tänzler

Dennis Tänzler is Director of International Climate Policy at adelphi. His research focuses on climate and energy policies as well as on peace and conflict studies. In Mistra Geopolitics, he works on geopolitics of decarbonization.

Telephone:+49 (30) 8900068-20

Stockholm University

Karin Bäckstrand

Karin Bäckstrand is a professor at the Department of Political Science at Stockholm University. Her research revolves around global environmental politics, the role of science in environmental decision-making, the politics of climate change and the democratic legitimacy of global governance. Karin is a member of the Swedish Government’s Climate Policy Council (Klimatpolitiska rĂ¥det) and a Mistra Geopolitics researcher in Work Package 3; Governance responses to environmental related security risks.

Telephone:+468161578

PhD student

Eugène Petelin

Eugène is a PhD student at Lund University. In his research, he explores the geopolitical implications of circular economy (Work Package 3), specifically how security concerns can affect circular strategies in different regions and what effect circular policies have on security. Previously, he worked as a researcher and teacher at National Research University — Higher School of Economics (Moscow, Russia), where his research was focused on China’s energy system transformation. Before joining the university, he worked as an editor of the Security Index journal, a Russian journal on international security. Eugène graduated from Tyumen State University (Russia) with a degree in Political Science and from Lund University with an MSc in Environmental Management and Policy.

PhD student

Ebba Minas

Ebba joined Stockholm University as a PhD candidate in February 2021. Her research focuses on global environmental governance and international climate agreements, with a particular interest in the role of the state in the decarbonisation of society. She has a bachelor’s degree in political science and sociology from the University of Glasgow, as well as a master’s degree in Global Studies from Lund University. Ebba is part of the Decarbonization theme within Mistra Geopolitics.

SEI

Patricio Calles

Patricio Calles is a Research Assistant at the Stockholm Environment Institute – Latin America. He supports research programmes on fossil fuel transitions and carbon lock-in. He is particularly interested in regional integration approaches to natural resources management. In Mistra Geopolitics, he works on the geopolitics of decarbonization.

SEI

Cleo Verkuijl

Cleo Verkuijl is a researcher at the Stockholm Environment Institute, based in Oxford. Her research focuses on legal and political dimensions of international climate change governance, including ways to increase ambition and action to address the supply of fossil fuels; and to move towards more sustainable and compassionate food systems. In Mistra Geopolitics, she works on the geopolitics of decarbonization.

SEI

Elisa Arond

Elisa Arond is a Research Fellow at the Stockholm Environment Institute – Latin America in BogotĂ¡, Colombia, where she leads the Just Energy Transitions group. Elisa’s research interests include carbon lock-in, extractive industries governance, sustainability transitions, and innovation policy to support inclusive transitions from fossil fuels, with a focus on producing regions in Colombia and Latin America. In Mistra Geopolitics, she works on geopolitics of decarbonization.

Kanin Laopirun

Kanin is a PhD candidate at Asian Institute of Technology and a visiting student at Lund University. He is exploring the circular economy assessment framework as part of plastic pollution in Thailand, measuring the circular economy transition and its magnitude for policy guidance. His research is derived from research interests in environmental economics and work experiences with intergovernmental units on natural resources management issues in Southeast Asia. He holds a master degree of environmental management from National University of Singapore (NUS) in Singapore with Asian Development Bank-Japan Scholarship support.

Ronan Palmer

Ronan Palmer is the Associate Director for E3G’s clean economy programme. His portfolio aims to support the transition of the economy to net zero. Ronan contributes with his expertise in the Mistra Geopolitics decarbonization theme.

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