Three ERC Starting Grants awarded to UU Geoscientists
Today, the European Research Council (ERC) announced that three Geoscientists from Utrecht University have been awarded an ERC Starting Grant. Dr. Rakhyun E. Kim, dr. James Patterson en dr. Yanliu Lin will each receive 1.5 million euros to carry out their research over the next five years. Of the 42 grants awarded in the Netherlands, six were brought in by Utrecht University.
The ERC Starting Grant makes it possible for young researchers in Europe to apply their talent and curiosity in their research projects. The subjects of these projects range from the social reaction and backlash to climate policies to collaborative planning in China. Here, we highlight the three laureates.
Why do societies sometimes accept costly public good action, but at other times push back suddenly and reject it?
Climate Backlash: Contentious Reactions to Policy Action (BACKLASH)
Growing calls for ambitious climate change action challenge governance because such action can trigger backlash. Why do societies sometimes accept costly public good action, but at other times push back suddenly and reject it? This project will study contentious reactions to climate policy through examining both large and in-depth cases of advanced industrial countries. This will open up new approaches to the interdisciplinary study of policy-society dynamics in addressing contentious collective problems.
With over 800 environmental treaties in force, the scale and complexity of environmental problem-shifting is severe and expected to increase.
Problem-Shifting between International Environmental Treaty Regimes: Causes, Consequences, and Solutions (ProblemShifting)
Global efforts to solve environmental problems also create new environmental problems. With over 800 environmental treaties in force, the scale and complexity of ‘environmental problem-shifting’ is severe and expected to increase. This project explains why problem-shifting occurs between treaties, and examines systemic effects through a novel methodology. Building on these findings, it offers innovative governance solutions that help ensure our global environmental efforts add up to a net positive impact.
The internet is an influential platform that provides opportunities for interactions between citizens and governments.
Collaborative Planning in China: Authoritarian Institutions, New Media, Power Relations, and Public Spheres
Collaborative planning has recently emerged in China to address conflicts of interest in urban renewal and environmental management. The internet is an influential platform that provides opportunities for interactions between citizens and governments. With this ERC project, Lin will examine collaborative planning practices in China and identify the challenges to the assumptions of collaborative planning theory about institutions, power relations, and public spheres, which will lead to a reconceptualisation of this theory to fit authoritarian contexts.