Research on display with Gunnhildur Lily Magnusdottir and Benedict Singleton, 29 november

What made you embark on research on climate issues?

Climate issues are clearly of immense societal prominence currently. As a scholar, I always want to work on subjects of relevance to wider society – the ivory tower is a nice place but it is good to get out and about occasionally!

My previous research projects have focused on environmental issues and as such, I leapt at the opportunity to work on the Intersectionality and Climate Policy Making project. Wicked problems like climate issues require considerable cooperative intellectual effort and I am particularly inspired by our project’s aim to make our research valuable to public officials.

What else, apart from other sources of research, has inspired you in your writing process and as researcher? Fiction, art, music, films?

• This is one of my favorite quotes about writing:
  
  A conversation between Death and Susan:
  "–All right, said Susan. I'm not stupid. You're saying humans need fantasies to make life bearable.
  –REALLY? AS IF IT WAS SOME KIND OF PINK PILL? NO. HUMANS NEED FANTASY TO BE HUMAN. TO BE THE PLACE WHERE THE FALLING ANGEL MEETS THE RISING APE.
  –Tooth fairies? Hogfathers? Little—
  –YES. AS PRACTICE. YOU HAVE TO START OUT LEARNING TO BELIEVE THE LITTLE LIES.
  –So we can believe the big ones?
  –YES. JUSTICE. MERCY. DUTY. THAT SORT OF THING.
  –They're not the same at all!
  –YOU THINK SO? THEN TAKE THE UNIVERSE AND GRIND IT DOWN TO THE FINEST POWDER AND SIEVE IT THROUGH THE FINEST SIEVE AND THEN SHOW ME ONE ATOM OF JUSTICE, ONE MOLECULE OF MERCY. AND YET—Death waved a hand. AND YET YOU ACT AS IF THERE IS SOME IDEAL ORDER IN THE WORLD, AS IF THERE IS SOME... SOME RIGHTNESS IN THE UNIVERSE BY WHICH IT MAY BE JUDGED.
  –Yes, but people have got to believe that, or what's the point
  –MY POINT EXACTLY.”
  Terry Pratchett, Hogfather
  
  
• This is another quote from the Leopard:
  
  “If we want things to stay as they are, everything will have to change.”
  Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa

What made you embark on research on climate issues?

Climate change is one of the biggest security threats of the 21st century, and as a political scientist, I am interested in the role of institutions in climate policy-making. I am particularly interested in how governmental authorities and the European Union work with questions of representation and social justice, meaning a possible recognition of climate-relevant social differences and inclusion of different types of knowledge into their climate policies.

My previous research focused among others on the Scandinavian EU member states´ reputation and role in the Environmental Policy of the EU and small states in the European Union. Currently, I am involved in three externally funded research projects that, broadly speaking, all focus on environmental and energy justice and equality.

Gunnhildur Lily Magnusdottir is Associate Professor of Political Science and Deputy Head of Global Political Studies, Malmö university.