BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:talks.ox.ac.uk BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Explaining Environmental Successes and Failures: Climate Change in Comparative Perspective - Professor Malcolm Fairbrother (Uppsala Universi ty) DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20260219T160000Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20260219T173000Z UID:https://new.talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/69bd5710-4e51-4bbc-ac75-08cd74269e a7/ DESCRIPTION:Why has the world performed so poorly in reducing greenhouse g as emissions and limiting climate change? Humanity has performed far bette r in addressing other environmental challenges\, such as protecting the oz one layer\, mitigating acid rain\, improving air quality\, and reducing pe ople's exposure to dioxins and lead. In this talk Professor Fairbrother wi ll consider different environmental outcomes in comparative perspective\, and conditions leading to better versus worse outcomes. He will argue\, co ntrary to other perspectives\, that there have been two key differences be tween climate change and more successfully mitigated problems. First\, pol luting industries have resisted regulation more strongly in the case of cl imate change\, with exceptional political efforts to deny and delay in tur n due to the uniquely unconvertible character of key industry assets. Seco nd\, in the success cases\, ordinary people were asked to make little or n o material sacrifice\, whereas in the case of climate change there is more of a price to be paid--and most people appear unwilling to pay a price\, even though it is modest\, because of distrust. Professor Fairbrother will conclude by elaborating implications for how we should seek to resolve th e climate crisis.——————————————————— ———————————————————————— —\n\nSpeaker bio: Malcolm Fairbrother is a professor of sociology at Upp sala University and the Institute for Futures Studies\, Sweden. His resear ch focuses on climate and environmental policy and politics\, social and p olitical trust\, globalization\, and social science research methods. His current projects investigate the decoupling of greenhouse gas emissions fr om economic growth\, and public attitudes towards policies for environment al protection. Originally from Vancouver\, Canada\, he received his PhD fr om the University of California\, Berkeley\; worked for ten years in the S chool of Geographical Sciences at the University of Bristol\; and has been a visiting researcher at institutions in Mexico\, the U.S.\, Canada\, Ita ly\, and Catalonia.\n————————————————— ———————————————————————— ———\n\nBooking is required for people outside of the Department of S ocial Policy and Intervention (DSPI). DSPI Members do not need to register .\nSpeakers:\nProfessor Malcolm Fairbrother (Uppsala University) LOCATION:32-42 Wellington Square (Barnett House) (VBR Department of Social Policy and Intervention\, 32 Wellington Square OX1 2ER/ Microsoft Teams)\ , 32-42 Wellington Square OX1 2ER TZID:Europe/London URL:https://new.talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/69bd5710-4e51-4bbc-ac75-08cd74269e a7/ BEGIN:VALARM ACTION:display DESCRIPTION:Talk:Explaining Environmental Successes and Failures: Climate Change in Comparative Perspective - Professor Malcolm Fairbrother (Uppsala University) TRIGGER:-PT1H END:VALARM END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Cities in Action: Organizations\, Institutions\, and Urban Climate Strategies - Dr Christof Brandtner (Emlyon Business School) DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20260226T160000Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20260226T173000Z UID:https://new.talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/a50f8d98-f95a-47c6-ab64-48f23f0a87 56/ DESCRIPTION:As national governments and global institutions fail to addres s climate change\, an increasing number of cities have committed to major sustainability and climate strategies. Why do some cities take bold action while others remain on the sidelines? \n\nChristof shows that city climat e action is not simply a matter of political will: it is an organizational problem. Cities do not act alone. They are embedded within both a broad i nstitutional superstructure of professional networks and peer cities as we ll as a deep organizational infrastructure of civil society organizations\ , public agencies\, and socially responsible firms. This dual embeddedness shapes cities’ capacity to plan\, learn\, lead\, and scale sustainabili ty solutions.\n\nDrawing on comparative research spanning fifteen years an d thousands of cities around the world\, Christof traces how environmental strategies\, sustainability practices\, and green building initiatives em erge\, diffuse\, and take hold. He uncovers the structural conditions that enable and inhibit meaningful climate action\, revealing why it varies so widely across cities.\n\nBy combining lenses from urban theory and organi zational sociology\, Christof sheds light on how cities navigate their soc ial and institutional environments to meet the climate challenge in his bo ok Cities in Action. The book offers a novel perspective for scholars\, po licy makers\, and practitioners seeking not just to explain but also to em power city action.\n—————————————————— ———————————————————————— ——\n\nSpeaker bio: Christof Brandtner is Associate Professor of Social Innovation at EM Lyon Business School\, a Fellow in the Canadian Institut e for Advanced Research’s program on Innovation\, Equity\, and the Futur e of Prosperity\, and a co-founder of the Civic Life of Cities Lab. His wo rk investigates how mission-driven organizations contribute and respond to calls to make cities more socially\, economically\, and environmentally s ustainable. He holds a PhD in sociology from Stanford University.\n—— ———————————————————————— ——————————————————\n\nBooking is requi red for people outside of the Department of Social Policy and Intervention (DSPI). DSPI Members do not need to register.\nSpeakers:\nDr Christof Bra ndtner (Emlyon Business School) LOCATION:32-42 Wellington Square (Barnett House) (VBR Department of Social Policy and Intervention\, 32 Wellington Square OX1 2ER/ Microsoft Teams)\ , 32-42 Wellington Square OX1 2ER TZID:Europe/London URL:https://new.talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/a50f8d98-f95a-47c6-ab64-48f23f0a87 56/ BEGIN:VALARM ACTION:display DESCRIPTION:Talk:Cities in Action: Organizations\, Institutions\, and Urba n Climate Strategies - Dr Christof Brandtner (Emlyon Business School) TRIGGER:-PT1H END:VALARM END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Extreme weather events and violent human behaviour: A case study i n Wayne County\, Michigan - Dr Rebeccah Sokol (University of Michigan Scho ol of Social Work) DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20260305T093000Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20260305T103000Z UID:https://new.talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/86169889-bb58-425f-bbf7-b28d8ac768 30/ DESCRIPTION:Emerging evidence suggests climate change may contribute to hu man violence\, but it is unclear why associations exist. In this seminar\, Dr Sokol will present a case study of Wayne County\, Michigan. This case study employed distributed lag models (DLMs) to evaluate associations of d ifferent types of extreme weather with firearm violence and child maltreat ment in Wayne County\, Michigan between 2014-2022. To understand contextua l influences\, models used data from before (2018–2019)\, during (March 2020–March 2021)\, and after (2022–2023) the onset of the COVID-19 pan demic. Overall findings suggest that\, for firearm violence\, extreme weat her immediately reduced risk\, with effects waning as people likely resume d regular activities. Yet for child maltreatment\, extreme weather created accumulating risk over several days when it disrupted an already stressed environment. \n\nDr Sokol will discuss how this study informs the Hazard- Violence Model–a novel conceptual model of extreme weather’s associati on with interpersonal violence\, including community and home-based violen ce. The seminar will conclude with discussing implications for theory deve lopment\, future research\, and policy.\n\n—————————— ———————————————————————— ——————————\n\nSpeaker bio: Rebeccah Sokol is an associ ate professor at the University of Michigan School of Social Work and a fa culty member of the Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention. Her research programme evaluates strategies to promote child and adolescent safety\, wi th a focus on recognising and addressing fundamental causes of violence. D r Sokol collaborates with interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral teams to un derstand the effects of programmes and policies that address material hard ships on youth safety.\n\nDr Sokol holds an Astor Visitor Lectureship.\n ———————————————————————— ————————————————————\n\nBooking is required for people outside of the Department of Social Policy and Interv ention (DSPI). DSPI Members do not need to register.\nSpeakers:\nDr Rebecc ah Sokol (University of Michigan School of Social Work) LOCATION:32-42 Wellington Square (Barnett House) (VBR Department of Social Policy and Intervention\, 32 Wellington Square OX1 2ER/ Microsoft Teams)\ , 32-42 Wellington Square OX1 2ER TZID:Europe/London URL:https://new.talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/86169889-bb58-425f-bbf7-b28d8ac768 30/ BEGIN:VALARM ACTION:display DESCRIPTION:Talk:Extreme weather events and violent human behaviour: A cas e study in Wayne County\, Michigan - Dr Rebeccah Sokol (University of Mich igan School of Social Work) TRIGGER:-PT1H END:VALARM END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:Welfare in a post-growth context - Professor Milena Büchs (Univer sity of Leeds) DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20260305T160000Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20260305T173000Z UID:https://new.talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/88421981-2563-465a-8605-f8f28b3534 35/ DESCRIPTION:The climate and ecological emergencies are accelerating and ta ckling them becomes more urgent every day. More and more academics and pol icymakers take seriously evidence which suggests that decoupling economic growth from emissions and material use at the scale and speed required to stay within planetary boundaries does not currently look feasible. Several studies also argue that once certain levels of income are achieved\, econ omic growth no longer significantly contributes to improving wellbeing and can be linked to increasing inequality and other social disbenefits. Post -growth has been suggested as an alternative – an economic system that i s designed not to rely on economic growth but to safeguard people’s well being within planetary boundaries. \n\nHowever\, within social policy\, pr o-growth positions prevail. One of the underlying assumptions is that grow th is required to sustain welfare state funding\, especially in a context of ageing societies. In this talk\, Milena Büchs will challenge this view and discuss proposals from the literature on ways in which welfare states could be funded in a post-growth context\, including wealth and environme ntal taxes\, and ideas from modern monetary theory on money creation throu gh government spending. The analysis will suggest that while there are ine vitable links between changes in the size of the economy and changes in re venues or available funding at given levels of taxation\, this does not ne cessarily imply that the provision of welfare relies on a growth-based eco nomy. The talk will then discuss which other levers become important from a post-growth perspective for providing welfare without growth. \n\n—— ———————————————————————— ———————————————————\n\nMilena Büchs is Professor of Sustainable Welfare at the University of Leeds. She speci alises in sustainable welfare\, eco-social policy and climate justice. \n\ nMilena started applying a social policy lens to climate change issues aro und 18 years ago after completing a PhD in European social policy at the H umboldt University Berlin. She held a lectureship in sociology and social policy at the University of Southampton from 2005 onwards before joining t he Sustainability Research Institute at the University of Leeds in 2016.\n \nMilena has published over 50 peer-reviewed journal articles and two book s\, and has been Principal and Co-Investigator on several large research p rojects. Currently\, she is a Co-I on the Horizon Europe projects “ToBe – Towards an Economy for Sustainable Wellbeing” and “MAPS – Models \, Assessment and Policy for Sustainability”. \n\n——————— ———————————————————————— ——————————————\n\nBooking is required for peop le outside of the Department of Social Policy and Intervention (DSPI). DSP I Members do not need to register\nSpeakers:\nProfessor Milena Büchs (Uni versity of Leeds) LOCATION:32-42 Wellington Square (Barnett House) (VBR Department of Social Policy and Intervention\, 32 Wellington Square OX1 2ER/ Microsoft Teams)\ , 32-42 Wellington Square OX1 2ER TZID:Europe/London URL:https://new.talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/88421981-2563-465a-8605-f8f28b3534 35/ BEGIN:VALARM ACTION:display DESCRIPTION:Talk:Welfare in a post-growth context - Professor Milena Büch s (University of Leeds) TRIGGER:-PT1H END:VALARM END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT SUMMARY:(Un)fair to Me\, (Un)fair to You? Fairness\, Distribution and Poli cy Support - Dr Liam Beiser-McGrath (London School of Economics and Politi cal Science) DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20260312T160000Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20260312T173000Z UID:https://new.talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/7e0486c0-93f8-4aa1-97a6-ae97b12d9b 8d/ DESCRIPTION:Policy debates are fundamentally distributive: who bears costs and who receives benefits influences perceived fairness and shapes public acceptability. Although fairness is known to correlate with environmental policy support\, evidence comes mainly from wealthy Western democracies. We address this gap by examining how cost and benefit targeting affects fa irness judgments and public support for environmental policies targeting u rban transportation in Delhi (India) and Jakarta (Indonesia)\, two cities that recently experienced fairness-driven public resistance in response to government action. We field a pre-registered factorial vignette survey ex periment in both cities (n = 3\,400) that randomises who pays and who bene fits\, measuring fairness-to-me and fairness-to-others perceptions and tes ting heterogeneity through car-ownership interactions. \n\nResults show th at targeting benefits and costs reduces both fairness perceptions compared to universal allocations\, more asymmetrically so in Jakarta. In both cit ies\, fairness-to-me is a stronger correlate of policy support than fairne ss-to-others. Car ownership shifts only fairness-to-me evaluations\, imply ing that material stakes shape self-oriented fairness without spilling ove r into broader societal fairness assessments. Benefit targeting under shar ed costs carries higher backlash risk\, while targeted costs can remain vi able when benefits are universal\, especially where equality norms shape c ollective fairness independently of material stakes.\n—————— ———————————————————————— ———————————————\n\nSpeaker bio: Dr. Liam F. Beiser-McGrath is an Associate Professor in International Social and Publi c Policy in the Department of Social Policy\, Chair of the Sustainable Soc ial Policy and Welfare States Research Hub\, Associate of the Grantham Res earch Institute on Climate Change and the Environment\, and Affiliate of t he Data Science Institute at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Liam is also an Editor for the journal Environmental Politics and the organiser of EPG Online\, an online seminar series covering Environme ntal Politics and Governance.\n\nLiam’s research primarily focuses on th e political economy of climate change\, using experimental research design s and machine learning. This research has been published in peer-reviewed journals such as Nature Climate Change\, the Journal of Politics\, Science Advances\, European Journal of Political Research\, Comparative Political Studies\, Political Analysis\, Climatic Change\, Political Science Resear ch & Methods\, Environmental Politics\, Global Environmental Politics\, th e Journal of European Social Policy\, Energy Policy\, Regulation and Gover nance\, Electoral Studies\, and the Journal of Public Policy.\n\n——— ———————————————————————— ——————————————————\n\nBooking is requi red for people outside of the Department of Social Policy and Intervention (DSPI). DSPI Members do not need to register\nSpeakers:\nDr Liam Beiser-M cGrath (London School of Economics and Political Science) LOCATION:32-42 Wellington Square (Barnett House) (VBR Department of Social Policy and Intervention\, 32 Wellington Square OX1 2ER/ Microsoft Teams)\ , 32-42 Wellington Square OX1 2ER TZID:Europe/London URL:https://new.talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/7e0486c0-93f8-4aa1-97a6-ae97b12d9b 8d/ BEGIN:VALARM ACTION:display DESCRIPTION:Talk:(Un)fair to Me\, (Un)fair to You? Fairness\, Distribution and Policy Support - Dr Liam Beiser-McGrath (London School of Economics a nd Political Science) TRIGGER:-PT1H END:VALARM END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR