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The Beyond Oil 2025 conference, hosted by the Centre for Climate and Energy Transformation at the University of Bergen, marked its 10th anniversary with a powerful call to rethink societal futures bey...

In June 2025, Empowered Futures member Larry Ibrahim Mohammed visited our partner institution, the Fridtjof Nansen Institute, for a two-week practicum. Read what inspired Larry's visit and his reflect...

Listen to Empowered Futures Alumni Podcast Episode 1 - Dr. Harald Grabher by Empowered Futures #np on #SoundCloud

Solar power is the most rapidly growing energy source worldwide. Solar turn holds potential for a significant shift to renewable energy and swift reductions in carbon emissions. Yet, as a land- and re...

How a trip to Scotland’s Orkney Islands raises questions of renewable energy benefits for communities in Newfoundland and Labrador

Modern technology has significantly enhanced the accessibility of photography, broadening its use across various scientific disciplines. Digital cameras and sma...

The deployment of low-carbon energy systems will have a variety of social and environmental impacts. Notwithstanding this, current just transitions wo…

Reflecting the prioritization of techno “fixes” over the socio-political dimension leading to anthropogenic climate change, there is a global surge of…

Land-use planning and related regulations are employed as purposeful planning tools in Oslo. Oslo municipality anchors its efforts in four key climate considerations: (a) planning for less transport and more public transport, walking, and cycling, (b) creating climate resilience, (c) preserving carbon in soil and vegetation, and (d) building in a climate- and nature-friendly manner. Among these, transportation has been most prevalent over time. For decades, Oslo’s planning philosophy has prioritized development from the city centre outward, focusing on densification around transport hubs. Weaknesses in how climate has been handled as part of planning have been identified at a national level. The Planning and Building Act and its implementation need to be strengthened. Oslo has led efforts to expand the interpretation and application of the Planning and Building Act, particularly in regulating emissions from construction. At a local level this relates closely with developing a broad approach spanning from green mobility to climate resilience through energy use, materials, and building activities. In the same year that the city council passed Oslo’s new climate strategy, a dialogue-based tool on these themes was implemented as part of the planning process. Today, the municipality is working to legalize this approach. Simultaneously, national experts have raised similar issues, and there is an interplay between levels of governance. Developing competencies in the municipality and internal networks and working with external networks in other parts of public administration and the building sector have been the main success factors in this work.

In the context of contemporary socioecological crises brought about through the political ontology of colonial capitalism, concerns about planetary conditions and their mounting pervasive impacts cont...

Urgent transition, urgent extraction? Global decarbonization, national governance, and local impacts in the Indonesian nickel industry, Hyldmo, Håkon da Silva, Wardhani, Indah Surya, Kurniawan, Nanang Indra, Cahayati, Devy Dhian, Rye, Ståle Angen, Vela-Almeida, Diana

In the context of contemporary socioecological crises brought about through the political ontology of colonial capitalism, concerns about planetary conditions and their mounting pervasive impacts cont...