The next print edition of the Green European Journal will interpret climate adaptation as a process of radical transformation. A process that must contribute to shaping a different relationship with each other and with nature while ensuring social acceptance for the green transition. We are open to essays, photo essays, interviews, and comics/graphic journalism. Deadline to send your pitch: 28 March 2024.
“Our task is to make trouble, to stir up potent response to devastating events, as well as to settle troubled waters and rebuild quiet places.”
Donna Haraway, Staying With the Trouble
Mitigation and adaptation are the two complementary categories of action generally associated with tackling the climate emergency. The emphasis on mitigation (emissions reduction or removal) is justified by the imperative to limit global warming. Without mitigation, no adaptation is possible.
But what do we mean by “adaptation”?
In its mainstream understanding, it is about preparing for or adjusting to the consequences of climate change. Indeed, the need to adapt is inescapable: heatwaves, floods, droughts, and other climate impacts already are the new reality in Europe and around the world.
Within the climate movement, however, adaptation has long been a taboo concept associated with defeatism. This discomfort is not without reason: Why should we strive to adapt to a reality that produces destruction and inequality instead of changing it?
Social and climate scientists acknowledge that adapting and changing are linked. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) defines “transformational adaptation” as a process “resulting in significant changes in structure or function that go beyond adjusting existing practices.” Importantly, transformational adaptation implies “deep and long-term societal changes” which include “values and worldviews”.
In other words, “adapting” to climate change demands that we collectively change too. In the summer edition of the Green European Journal, we want to put forward the understanding that the only possible way of adapting to the climate crisis implies radical transformation.
We are looking for pitches that look at inspiring examples of such transformation at local, regional, national or European level, how they benefit people and communities, increase social acceptance of green policies, and how they can drive far-reaching political change. But we also want to address false solutions that keep local inequalities and global exploitation structures untouched.
Some possible angles:
- The green/climate movement and its shifting relationship to adaptation
- Inspiring examples of urban/rural adaptation and how they can drive political change from the grassroots
- Transformation in relation to work / housing / education / agriculture etc.
- Physical and mental health
- Transforming our politics: ecofeminist perspectives, indigenous knowledge, intersectional approaches
- Technology (geoengineering, AI, …): ally, silver bullet, or false solution?
- Adaptation and the concept of “Climate winners”
- Global perspectives: from extractivism to resource justice
Get inspired by the Journal’s past publishing:
- Adapt or Else: What the Recent IPCC Report Means for Europe and the World
- The Cities Feeling the Heat
- Green Housing Threatens Affordability. But It Doesn’t Have To
Editorial requirements
We are looking for all kinds of contributions that stimulate debate, reflection, and imagination. We are open to formats such as essays, interviews, photo essays, and comics/graphic journalism.
Pitches should be sent to alessio.giussani@gef.eu
Accepted contributions are paid. The fee will be agreed with the editor.
The Green European Journal strives to be an inclusive space, bringing together a diverse range of voices and perspectives. We welcome contributions from everyone. Contributions from those belonging to the following groups are especially encouraged: women, people of colour, people with a physical or mental disability, LGBTQI+ individuals, and ethnic, cultural, and religious minorities. Contributions from southern and eastern Europe and from outside the European Union are particularly welcome.
If you would like to make a submission but require some support to do so, we invite you to contact us directly. Send us a summary of your proposed contribution and introduce yourself before submitting a draft. We’re happy for contributors to write in a language of their choosing. Before contacting us, check our editorial guidelines carefully. Submissions may be published in print or online.
The deadline for pitches and ideas is 28 March 2024.