Call for Papers

2017 Lund Conference
on Earth System Governance

Allocation & Access in a Warming and Increasingly Unequal World

Lund University, Sweden, 9-11 October 2017

www.earthsystemgovernance.org/lund2017<http://earthsystemgovernance.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7f2f84a144044807c7fd17061&id=93e38ddf71&e=4793b9218e>

We invite you to submit abstracts for the Lund Conference on Earth System 
Governance to be held 9-11 October 2017 in Lund, Sweden.

Key Dates


*         Deadline for paper abstracts: 15 March 2017

*         Notification of acceptance: 15 April 2017

*         Full papers due: 20 September 2017

*         Conference dates: 9-11 October 2017

The conference is part of the global series organized by the Earth System 
Governance Project. The first Earth System Governance conference was held in 
Amsterdam in December 2009, followed by Fort Collins (2011), Lund (2012), Tokyo 
(2013), Norwich (2014), Canberra (2015), and Nairobi (2016). The 2017 
conference will take place in Lund, Sweden. The Lund Conference on Earth System 
Governance is hosted by Lund University and jointly organized by the Lund 
University Centre for Sustainability Studies (LUCSUS) and the Earth System 
Governance Project.

Conference Theme

The 2017 Lund Conference on Earth System Governance will address the 
overarching theme of 'Allocation and Access in a Warming and Increasingly 
Unequal World'. This theme acknowledges the multiple crises faced across the 
world and the uneven distribution of their impacts. A recent report from Oxfam 
suggests that the richest 1% of the world's population now has as much wealth 
as the rest of the other 99% combined. Similarly, climate change and the 
challenges of mitigation and adaptation are driving further inequalities across 
the world. In addition, climate change implies an unprecedented 
intergenerational dimension because of the long lags between emissions, on the 
one hand, and climate change impacts on the other. However, inequality is far 
more complex than simply wealth distribution and climate change impacts. Earth 
system governance must address the entire spectrum of environmental, social and 
political inequalities.

This leads to the fundamental questions of 'who gets what, when, where and 
how'. Different disciplines refer to this challenge differently: lawyers speak 
of equity, economists of distribution, resource analysts of access, political 
scientists of fairness, and sociologists of social justice. In earth system 
governance research, we refer to this as the analytical problems of 'allocation 
and access'. In this line of inquiry, we are particularly interested in 
outcomes, pathways and reallocation in governance. Given the clear impetus for 
a drastic change in earth system governance in the coming decades and the key 
challenges faced by many countries politically, socially and environmentally, 
matters of allocation and access will continue to be crucial questions in the 
coming decades.

Conference Streams

The conference theme 'Allocation and Access in a Warming and Increasingly 
Unequal World' will be addressed in five thematic streams:

*         Environmental justice in earth system governance

*         Conceptual understandings and progress

*         Science and activism

*         Theory and methodology

*         Earth system governance in turbulent times

Stream 1: Environmental justice in earth system governance
We understand that governance structures and decisions affect the allocation 
of, and access to, environmental benefits and burdens. Impacts of global 
environmental change are experienced differently at the local level and are 
neither borne nor distributed equally within groups in society. Environmental 
quality has become closely tied to human equality through environmental 
justice. Environmental injustices pose significant governance challenges at the 
international, national and local levels and ultimately lead to widespread 
inequalities in society and across generations. In this stream, we invite 
contributions that address the procedural and distributional aspects of earth 
system governance. How does earth system governance across scales affect 
allocation and access of environmental benefits and burdens? Who is accountable 
for environmental justice and at what levels? What constitutes a just 
distribution of collective goods in a democratic society?

Stream 2: Conceptual understandings and progress
The 2017 conference will continue the discussion of our 2016 Nairobi conference 
on inequality and will now focus on conceptual understandings and progress on 
inequality in allocation and access. Inequality has many dimensions that range 
from procedural access and democratic aspects of legitimacy, transparency and 
accountability to consequences like distributive injustice or imbalances of 
environmental, social and economic outcomes. In this stream we return to some 
of the foundational questions of the Earth System Governance Science Plan: What 
is the relevance of questions of allocation and access to earth system 
governance? How can we reach agreement on interdisciplinary conceptualizations 
and definitions of allocation and access? What are the normative issues at 
stake in the relationship between environmental sustainability and social 
justice in earth system governance? What (overarching) principles underlie 
governance of allocation and access? How can allocation and access be 
reconciled with governance effectiveness?

Stream 3: Science and activism
An exciting new focus of the 2017 conference is to draw attention to the 
bifurcation between science and activism. In the era of 'alternative facts' and 
post-truth politics, arguably science has a more active role to play in 
engaging with political, social and environmental reforms. Social movements are 
emerging as a global force for social change and democratization, and the role 
of research and researchers deserves our attention. This stream invites 
deliberations on the role of science in politics. What is the role of science 
as such and the individual scientist in civic engagement and collective action? 
What are the strategies for science to engage more meaningfully with activism? 
Can engagement in activism undermine scientific credibility? What is the 
professional responsibility we have to use our scientific knowledge in the face 
of increasing global inequality and rapid environmental change?

Stream 4: Theory and Methodology
Theoretical and methodological pluralism is a part of earth system governance 
research, drawing from the social sciences as well as interdisciplinary 
approaches at the interface of social and natural sciences. In the context of 
an increasingly warming and unequal world, there is a challenge for theory and 
methodology development to address both sustainability and environmental 
justice while maintaining scientific quality and rigor. In this stream we seek 
to create a platform for the earth system governance community to engage in 
such theoretical and methodological inquiry. What theories are relevant for 
earth system governance in the current context? What are the most promising and 
innovative approaches to researching allocation and access across multiple 
scales of governance?

Stream 5: Earth system governance in turbulent times
With the rapid political, social and environmental changes currently occurring, 
we have seen new words entering the earth system governance lexicon, including 
political terms like Brexit, 'alternative facts', 'Trumpism' or 'post-factual', 
but also new terms stemming from the science community, such as Anthropocene. 
The shifting landscape of governance opens areas for new research as earth 
system governance must adapt to turbulent times, recognizing the extraordinary 
degree of harm that is possible, and that current governance systems might not 
be fully prepared for. We therefore invite papers that especially address this 
challenge. For example, what theoretical concepts, frameworks, and 
methodologies can be used to analyze and understand the current social, 
political and environmental landscape? In what ways do innovations or changes 
in governance arrangements produce more or less accountable, adaptive, 
accessible and equitable processes/outcomes? How is the agency of different 
actors shaping allocation and access in the Anthropocene?

In addition to these five thematic streams, we also welcome papers relevant to 
earth system governance in general.

Types of Proposals

Individual papers
We invite submissions of abstracts of 400 words (or less) that address either 
the main conference theme; one or more of the five conference streams; or any 
other topic that is relevant to the Earth System Governance Project. 
Submissions are welcome through the conference website - 
earthsystemgovernance.org/lund2017<http://earthsystemgovernance.us12.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=7f2f84a144044807c7fd17061&id=3f8c64ff0a&e=4793b9218e>
All abstracts will be anonymized and evaluated in double-blind peer-review by 
generally five members of our conference review panel.

Full panels
In addition, we invite Panel proposals that address the main conference theme; 
one or more of the five conference streams; or any other topic relevant to the 
Earth System Governance Project. Submissions are welcome through the conference 
website - 
earthsystemgovernance.org/lund2017<http://earthsystemgovernance.us12.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=7f2f84a144044807c7fd17061&id=63ae62b621&e=4793b9218e>
Panel proposals must include a description of the panel (300 words or less), 
4-5 abstracts (each 400 words or less), as well as the name of a chair and a 
discussant. Please note that all paper abstracts will be evaluated individually 
in the general double-blind peer-review of the conference, with the possible 
outcome that only some papers submitted for a panel might eventually be 
accepted. Only panels with three or more accepted papers will be included in 
the programme.

Innovative sessions
We also welcome proposals for non-traditional sessions, such as roundtables 
(which may include policy-makers, academics, or representatives of 
non-governmental organizations), policy games, book launches, and book clubs 
(that may discuss recently published academic works in the field). All 
non-traditional sessions can be proposed directly to the conference organizers 
by e-mail: 
[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>. 
Proposals should include a description of the session (1 page) and a list of 
participants. Proposals will be reviewed by the conference organizers and 
members of the local advisory committee.

In addition, the conference will provide space for side-events or back-to-back 
meetings of Task Forces, Affiliated Projects, or other relevant meetings.

Additional Information

Please note that while there is no limit on the number of submissions, 
individuals will only be permitted to present, at a maximum, 2 papers.

The organizers are undertaking all efforts to secure travel support for 
participants who are based at institutions in developing countries. To the 
extent that travel funds are available, they will be disbursed on merit basis 
according to the relative ranking of the abstract. Acceptance of a paper for 
presentation does not guarantee travel support.

Additional information and answers to frequently asked questions can be found 
on the conference website at 
earthsystemgovernance.org/lund2017<http://earthsystemgovernance.us12.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=7f2f84a144044807c7fd17061&id=0c30ecb7b3&e=4793b9218e>

We look forward to welcoming you to Lund!

Vasna Ramasar, Conference Chair (Lund University Centre for Sustainability 
Studies)






--

Ruben Zondervan



Executive Director

Earth System Governance Project

International Project Office

Lund University

P.O. Box 170, SE-221 00 Lund, Sweden

Phone: +46 (0)46 222 0478

www.earthsystemgovernance.org




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