Periodic Reporting for period 1 - C-Urge (Anthropology of Global Climate Urgency)
Période du rapport: 2023-02-01 au 2025-01-31
The overarching objective of this DN is to respond to a growing urgency expressed by European research councils
and funding agencies, as well as by governments, publics and students, that the social sciences should contribute to
our understanding of and engagement with climate change. We propose that the need for urgent action demands that
social science attends to the notion of 'urgency' itself. We want to train doctoral candidates in understanding different
perceptions on environmental and climatological urgency, their temporalities, and the political and environmental
implications these understandings may have. 10 PhD students will carry out ethnographic research in Africa, Latin-
America, Asia or Europe. The researchers will gain non-academic transferable skills in organisations that either
disseminate scientific findings, or that work in political or development-related contexts. Experts of 5 European
universities (KU Leuven University, University of Edinburgh, Halle University, Uppsala University, and the University
of Catania) team up with 6 non-academic partners, and 10 members of the interdisciplinary advisory board in order to
ensure that the 10 PhD candidates will receive excellent training opportunities both in academia and outside academia.
This ensures the formation of a cohort of junior experts who will be able to contribute to the struggle against the disruptive
effects of climate change. C-urge responds to the invitation described in the European Climate Pact to connect and share
knowledge about climate change as well as develop, implement and scale up possible solutions and offers a qualitative,
innovative, multi-sectoral as well as trans-disciplinary approach to the various degrees of urgency that global climate
change inspires. The on-the-ground insights and knowledge that C-urge produces will ultimately strengthen European
policy, innovation and responsiveness to climate change and its impacts across the globe.
Website: https://www.c-urge.eu/(s’ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre)
and funding agencies, as well as by governments, publics and students, that the social sciences should contribute to
our understanding of and engagement with climate change. We propose that the need for urgent action demands that
social science attends to the notion of 'urgency' itself. We want to train doctoral candidates in understanding different
perceptions on environmental and climatological urgency, their temporalities, and the political and environmental
implications these understandings may have. 10 PhD students will carry out ethnographic research in Africa, Latin-
America, Asia or Europe. The researchers will gain non-academic transferable skills in organisations that either
disseminate scientific findings, or that work in political or development-related contexts. Experts of 5 European
universities (KU Leuven University, University of Edinburgh, Halle University, Uppsala University, and the University
of Catania) team up with 6 non-academic partners, and 10 members of the interdisciplinary advisory board in order to
ensure that the 10 PhD candidates will receive excellent training opportunities both in academia and outside academia.
This ensures the formation of a cohort of junior experts who will be able to contribute to the struggle against the disruptive
effects of climate change. C-urge responds to the invitation described in the European Climate Pact to connect and share
knowledge about climate change as well as develop, implement and scale up possible solutions and offers a qualitative,
innovative, multi-sectoral as well as trans-disciplinary approach to the various degrees of urgency that global climate
change inspires. The on-the-ground insights and knowledge that C-urge produces will ultimately strengthen European
policy, innovation and responsiveness to climate change and its impacts across the globe.
Website: https://www.c-urge.eu/(s’ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre)
The C-URGE project made substantial technical and scientific contributions in advancing qualitative research on climate urgency through transdisciplinary ethnographic methods. Activities so far focused on theory building, methodological development, ethnographic fieldwork and data collection with the following key achievements:
Theory building: Doctoral candidates received strong theoretical grounding via an interdisciplinary training programme. DCs keep attending doctoral seminars, reading groups, and workshops on a multitude of relevant themes while also engaging in thematic reading groups
Methodological development: C-URGE developed and implemented of a transdisciplinary methodological framework referred to as the Eco-Ethnography Protocol, which presents itself as a toolbox from which DCs can source relevant methods throughout their projects, testing innovative ways to explore how people around the world experience and interpret climate urgency
Ethnographic fieldwork: Doctoral candidates have conducted immersive ethnographic fieldwork in 7 countries (Sri Lanka, Germany, Argentina, DR Congo, Kenya, Tanzania, Italy), combining 9 months of on-site research and 3 months of digital ethnography.
Data collection: DCs engaged with a broad range of interlocutors, including indigenous communities, citizen scientists and local professionals, collecting rich, context-sensitive empirical data and insights on how climate urgency is locally interpreted, mediated, and acted upon.
Theory building: Doctoral candidates received strong theoretical grounding via an interdisciplinary training programme. DCs keep attending doctoral seminars, reading groups, and workshops on a multitude of relevant themes while also engaging in thematic reading groups
Methodological development: C-URGE developed and implemented of a transdisciplinary methodological framework referred to as the Eco-Ethnography Protocol, which presents itself as a toolbox from which DCs can source relevant methods throughout their projects, testing innovative ways to explore how people around the world experience and interpret climate urgency
Ethnographic fieldwork: Doctoral candidates have conducted immersive ethnographic fieldwork in 7 countries (Sri Lanka, Germany, Argentina, DR Congo, Kenya, Tanzania, Italy), combining 9 months of on-site research and 3 months of digital ethnography.
Data collection: DCs engaged with a broad range of interlocutors, including indigenous communities, citizen scientists and local professionals, collecting rich, context-sensitive empirical data and insights on how climate urgency is locally interpreted, mediated, and acted upon.
C-URGE is developing new tools, methods and knowledge that reframe our understanding of climate urgency as a lived, locally shaped experience, rather than a purely technical or scientific problem. By refining and applying qualitative research across diverse contexts, the project demonstrates how such approaches can generate actionable insights for climate policy, advocacy, and further research. In doing so, C-URGE supports more just, inclusive, and context-aware responses to climate change — across Europe and beyond — while informing Green Deal priorities, post-carbon transitions, and climate justice agendas by including marginalized voices and local expertise in climate action.
Key results and potential impacts beyond the state of the art:
Development and application of a transdisciplinary, qualitative research approach to climate urgency, drawing from and integrating methods such as anthropology, eco-ethnography, digital ethnography, environmental studies and participatory research to study climate urgency across geographic, cultural, and institutional contexts.
The preparation of a C-URGE methodological and policy toolkit (publicly available by the end of the program), enabling other researchers and policymakers to replicate or adapt the project's methods.
Publicly available knowledge amongst which 10 PhD dissertation, 10 policy briefs and a white paper with reflections and recommendations on how to translate qualitative science into applied climate action contributing to connect knowledge and action across different political, cultural, and ecological settings. Each DC will also produce a series of peer reviewed publications on the topic.
Training of a new generation of climate researchers who can move between academic, policy, and public spheres and are able to address complex global issues with empathy, cultural sensitivity, and scientific rigor.
Key results and potential impacts beyond the state of the art:
Development and application of a transdisciplinary, qualitative research approach to climate urgency, drawing from and integrating methods such as anthropology, eco-ethnography, digital ethnography, environmental studies and participatory research to study climate urgency across geographic, cultural, and institutional contexts.
The preparation of a C-URGE methodological and policy toolkit (publicly available by the end of the program), enabling other researchers and policymakers to replicate or adapt the project's methods.
Publicly available knowledge amongst which 10 PhD dissertation, 10 policy briefs and a white paper with reflections and recommendations on how to translate qualitative science into applied climate action contributing to connect knowledge and action across different political, cultural, and ecological settings. Each DC will also produce a series of peer reviewed publications on the topic.
Training of a new generation of climate researchers who can move between academic, policy, and public spheres and are able to address complex global issues with empathy, cultural sensitivity, and scientific rigor.