Narrating socio-cultural transitions to a post-fossil society

Climaginaries was initiated in September 2018 as a FORMAS financed research project. We are a multi-disciplinary group of scholars from Lund, Utrecht, Durham and Warwick Universities exploring innovative and creative ways of envisioning how a post-fossil world might look like, and the means through which it can transpire. The idea came as a response to the fact that the power to enable and govern transition to a post-fossil society not only relies on scientific facts and legislative measures, but also on effectual means to envision post-fossil worlds. Our key mission with this project is to explore the transformative capacity of imaginaries; how compelling narratives are told, and how they can shape and enable efforts to confront climate change.

Climaginaries is supported by two interdisciplinary research networks: Narrating Climate Futures, a strategic collaborative initiative at Lund University convening research projects, workshops, reading groups and seminars on topics related to envisioned futures, and Urban Futures Studio, a transdisciplinary research institute at Utrecht University specialising in techniques of futuring and policy learning. These networks bring together agents of change from within the realms of policy, business, cultural institutions, social movements, and the art scene, thus ensuring interaction and collaboration not only across disciplines and faculties, but also beyond the borders of the academy itself.