Universities, Sustainability, and Neoliberalism: Contradictions of the Climate Emergency Declarations

Detalhes bibliográficos
Autor(a) principal: O’Neill, Kirstie
Data de Publicação: 2021
Outros Autores: Sinden, Charlotte
Tipo de documento: Artigo
Idioma: eng
Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
Texto Completo: https://doi.org/10.17645/pag.v9i2.3872
Resumo: UK universities have been successively declaring a climate emergency, following the University of Bristol’s lead in 2019. Universities are key actors in climate change education, and potentially progressive organisations researching, teaching and implementing low carbon futures. Using universities’ sustainability strategies, we present a secondary analysis identifying neoliberalism’s significant role in influencing universities’ sustainability policies and practices. This plays out through university boosterism where universities use their sustainability work to claim sustainability leadership, representing a form of sustainability capital to attract funding and potential students. Furthermore, we suggest a cognitive-practice gap exists between those researching sustainability and those implementing sustainability in universities. Thus, we conclude that there are inherent tensions in universities’ sustainability governance, with universities embodying contradictory sustainability discourses and advancing a form of green capital. Entrenched neoliberal ideologies present challenges for those declaring a climate emergency and how such declarations are subsequently operationalised.
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spelling Universities, Sustainability, and Neoliberalism: Contradictions of the Climate Emergency Declarationsclimate change; climate emergency; neoliberalism; sustainability; United Kingdom; universitiesUK universities have been successively declaring a climate emergency, following the University of Bristol’s lead in 2019. Universities are key actors in climate change education, and potentially progressive organisations researching, teaching and implementing low carbon futures. Using universities’ sustainability strategies, we present a secondary analysis identifying neoliberalism’s significant role in influencing universities’ sustainability policies and practices. This plays out through university boosterism where universities use their sustainability work to claim sustainability leadership, representing a form of sustainability capital to attract funding and potential students. Furthermore, we suggest a cognitive-practice gap exists between those researching sustainability and those implementing sustainability in universities. Thus, we conclude that there are inherent tensions in universities’ sustainability governance, with universities embodying contradictory sustainability discourses and advancing a form of green capital. Entrenched neoliberal ideologies present challenges for those declaring a climate emergency and how such declarations are subsequently operationalised.Cogitatio2021-04-28info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/articleapplication/pdfhttps://doi.org/10.17645/pag.v9i2.3872oai:ojs.cogitatiopress.com:article/3872Politics and Governance; Vol 9, No 2 (2021): Is There a New Climate Politics? Emergency, Engagement and Justice; 29-402183-2463reponame:Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)instname:Agência para a Sociedade do Conhecimento (UMIC) - FCT - Sociedade da Informaçãoinstacron:RCAAPenghttps://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/3872https://doi.org/10.17645/pag.v9i2.3872https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/3872/3872Copyright (c) 2021 Kirstie O'Neill, Charlotte Sindenhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessO’Neill, KirstieSinden, Charlotte2022-12-22T15:16:18Zoai:ojs.cogitatiopress.com:article/3872Portal AgregadorONGhttps://www.rcaap.pt/oai/openaireopendoar:71602024-03-19T16:22:19.898032Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos) - Agência para a Sociedade do Conhecimento (UMIC) - FCT - Sociedade da Informaçãofalse
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Universities, Sustainability, and Neoliberalism: Contradictions of the Climate Emergency Declarations
title Universities, Sustainability, and Neoliberalism: Contradictions of the Climate Emergency Declarations
spellingShingle Universities, Sustainability, and Neoliberalism: Contradictions of the Climate Emergency Declarations
O’Neill, Kirstie
climate change; climate emergency; neoliberalism; sustainability; United Kingdom; universities
title_short Universities, Sustainability, and Neoliberalism: Contradictions of the Climate Emergency Declarations
title_full Universities, Sustainability, and Neoliberalism: Contradictions of the Climate Emergency Declarations
title_fullStr Universities, Sustainability, and Neoliberalism: Contradictions of the Climate Emergency Declarations
title_full_unstemmed Universities, Sustainability, and Neoliberalism: Contradictions of the Climate Emergency Declarations
title_sort Universities, Sustainability, and Neoliberalism: Contradictions of the Climate Emergency Declarations
author O’Neill, Kirstie
author_facet O’Neill, Kirstie
Sinden, Charlotte
author_role author
author2 Sinden, Charlotte
author2_role author
dc.contributor.author.fl_str_mv O’Neill, Kirstie
Sinden, Charlotte
dc.subject.por.fl_str_mv climate change; climate emergency; neoliberalism; sustainability; United Kingdom; universities
topic climate change; climate emergency; neoliberalism; sustainability; United Kingdom; universities
description UK universities have been successively declaring a climate emergency, following the University of Bristol’s lead in 2019. Universities are key actors in climate change education, and potentially progressive organisations researching, teaching and implementing low carbon futures. Using universities’ sustainability strategies, we present a secondary analysis identifying neoliberalism’s significant role in influencing universities’ sustainability policies and practices. This plays out through university boosterism where universities use their sustainability work to claim sustainability leadership, representing a form of sustainability capital to attract funding and potential students. Furthermore, we suggest a cognitive-practice gap exists between those researching sustainability and those implementing sustainability in universities. Thus, we conclude that there are inherent tensions in universities’ sustainability governance, with universities embodying contradictory sustainability discourses and advancing a form of green capital. Entrenched neoliberal ideologies present challenges for those declaring a climate emergency and how such declarations are subsequently operationalised.
publishDate 2021
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2021-04-28
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dc.identifier.uri.fl_str_mv https://doi.org/10.17645/pag.v9i2.3872
oai:ojs.cogitatiopress.com:article/3872
url https://doi.org/10.17645/pag.v9i2.3872
identifier_str_mv oai:ojs.cogitatiopress.com:article/3872
dc.language.iso.fl_str_mv eng
language eng
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/3872
https://doi.org/10.17645/pag.v9i2.3872
https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/3872/3872
dc.rights.driver.fl_str_mv Copyright (c) 2021 Kirstie O'Neill, Charlotte Sinden
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv Copyright (c) 2021 Kirstie O'Neill, Charlotte Sinden
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Cogitatio
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Cogitatio
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv Politics and Governance; Vol 9, No 2 (2021): Is There a New Climate Politics? Emergency, Engagement and Justice; 29-40
2183-2463
reponame:Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
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