In late June 2023, BOLSTER researchers participated in a just transition-related session of the European Urban Research Association (EURA) Conference in Reykjavik, Iceland.
The track entitled “The political economy of ‘just transition’: Cities, conflicts and democratic encounters in ‘green’ politics” explored the changing political economy of a ‘just transition’ to zero-carbon, sustainable cities. Participants reflected on how new forms of conflicts and dilemmas become manifest in changing patterns of civic engagement, and how these movements interact with political and administrative institutions in their pursuit of ‘green’ politics and ‘just transition’.
Marcin Baron, Artur Ochojski and Adam Polko made the question of “What about the consensus and commitment building?” a headline of their presentation on the governance of just transition in Upper Silesia (co-authored with Adam Drobniak). The insight was based upon the Silesian stakeholders mapping in BOLSTER. During the session, the findings were compared to the results of studies on participation in green policies run in Nordic countries, Italy, as well as in other places across the world.
