PhD project Narratives of the so-called green transition is not (yet) a reality. What is real about them is the way that they are spatialised and materialised. This project asks what these spatial consequences are, how they are experienced, and by whom. It explores how such consequences can be used to think critically about the narratives driving change and how these are entangled with histories of extraction, displacement, and dispossession. Can they also help us imagine more just, collective futures?
This project aims to critically examine green transition narratives, a set of narratives that have, in recent years, come to dominate the way that development is framed (especially in northern Sweden). It focuses on the spatial and material consequences of these narratives, using collaborative methods to trace lived experiences of ongoing change. The contribution is a critical examination of so-called green transition narratives, which deepens understandings of the role of spatial practice in shaping just transitions and adds to local knowledge of ongoing change.
This PhD project takes as its starting point the narratives surrounding the so-called green transition, and their spatial and material consequences. These narratives are closely linked to growth-oriented development imaginaries—such as green growth, sustainable development, and techno-optimism—that currently shape how climate action is framed. In Sweden and across Europe, they are advanced through large-scale industrial developments, largely led and relying on private actors, and reproduced by institutional actors and media. Examples include “green” megaprojects such as fossil-free steel, battery production, and the extraction of resources for new technologies.
A green future, for all?
Despite promises of justice alongside reduced emissions and continued economic growth, such narratives often risk sidelining social justice. They may reproduce colonial patterns of extraction, reinforce spatial inequalities, and limit how we imagine alternative paths forward. In the pursuit of a just future for all, it is clear that critical perspectives on these types of narratives are crucial. Furthermore, we know far too little about the physical reality that they produce, i.e. local spatial and material consequences.
This doctoral project operates at the intersection of these two areas, exploring the links between critical perspectives on green transition narratives and their actual spatial and material effects. Through a mixed-method and participatory research approach, it explores specific sites as active participants in shaping transitions and their futures, centring lived experiences and local perspectives. Throughout, storytelling is used as a praxis and method for decolonising knowledge production, focusing on accountability and ethical engagement.
The contribution is a critical examination of so-called green transition narratives, which deepens understandings of the role of spatial practice in shaping just transitions and adds to local knowledge of ongoing change.
