DATE: October 30th, 2024 | TIME: 2:00pm (EST) | Free Event
LOCATION: Macdonald Engineering Building Rm: 497
Refreshments will be supplied *Bring your own Mug!
Energy use is responsible for 81% of greenhouse gas emissions in Canada, and two thirds of emissions globally. A global transition of our energy systems is estimated to cost over $100 trillion in investment by 2050. Will that investment into renewable energy and low-carbon energy sources leave people better off or worse off? Will a low-carbon energy transition replicate and exacerbate existing inequalities, or will it include historically excluded communities and groups in the benefits? Integrated Assessment Models are often used by national governments to provide useful guidance into the impacts of policy instruments on carbon emissions. However, place-based approaches that take into account the local context and history, actors, their capacities, ecosystems and economies, can help us to understand how energy transitions can centre local value creation and justice. Place-based approaches can lead to solutions that are supported by communities, increasing social acceptance of climate solutions. In my talk, I will define what is a place-based approach to energy transitions, energy justice and societal transformation in the context of energy transitions. I will illustrate these by sharing on-going research about how place-based approaches can inform research, as well as policy. This includes research to support a coalition of First Nations who are advocating for control over the British Columbia electricity grid expansion, the examination of how cities are acquiring renewable electricity from surrounding regions, and place-based analysis of the emergence of community based renewable energy clusters to support the acceleration of renewable energy transitions.
Dr. Christina Hoicka
Dr. Christina Hoicka earned a Bachelor of Engineering (McGill University), a Masters in Environmental Studies with a focus on ecological economics (York University), and a PhD in Geography (University of Waterloo). She studies the diffusion of low-carbon innovations and renewable energy and their associated socio-economic impacts. She also studies the involvement of traditionally excluded communities in justice-oriented advocacy for low-carbon energy transitions and societal transformation. She is co-founder and founding Chair of Women & Inclusivity in Sustainable Energy Research (WISER) Network.