The seminar is free and open to all, but please register here in advance. There will be served some light snacks and coffee from 10:00, and the lecture starts at 10:15.
About the lecture
While securing upfront capital investment is a key challenge for rapid mainstreaming of renewable energy production and energy efficient consumption in cities, business-as-usual finance represents a barrier to consumer advocates’ aspirations for clean and affordable energy for all. Contemporary financial systems constitute a regime of capitalist institutions and calculative devices that limit socio-spatial inclusion and democratic governance in urban energy transitions according to measures of value, risk, and return across time and space. These mechanisms are mediated by local governance settings and embedded in processes of global accumulation. Altogether, these geographical conditions shape the diffusion of low-carbon innovations in cities. This talk brings together social innovation, diverse economies, and feminist ethics to explore how financial mechanisms can adapt or reconfigure capitalist orthodoxies towards socially just outcomes in urban sustainability transitions. Qualitative case studies of renewable energy development led by urban actors in municipalities in Australia, the UK, and Sweden demonstrate that improved accessibility, local reinvestment, and prioritisation of the needs and values of households and communities are possible through place-based financial innovations designed to transform disadvantage and corporate power in the energy system.
About the speaker
Dr Paris Hadfield is a research fellow at the Monash Sustainable Development Institute in Melbourne, Australia. Her research explores governance and implementation pathways for just sustainability transitions, including circular waste management in Indonesian village communities, place-based delivery models for home retrofit in Australia, and how university structures can support collaborative real-world experimentation for impact. Paris completed her PhD in the Faculty of Architecture, Building, and Planning at the University of Melbourne on the role of finance in shaping local autonomy and social inclusion in urban renewable energy transitions.