The Climate Grief Series

Welcome to SG’s contribution to TUD Climate Action. After a successful pilot event in the summer, where we welcomed the giant, floating Climate Jellyfish to the Library, we are kicking off our Climate Grief Series. There will be five events for you to visit, corresponding to the famous five stages of grief: denial, depression, anger, bargaining, and acceptance. Having faced Denial and the Climate Oracle, it is now time to move on to the next stage.

Stage 2. Depression

The climate scenarios we face offer little cause for optimism. We are looking for ways in which we can imagine and create better futures. But how do we imagine a future so radically different from anything that has come before? 

Models and scenarios are an important tool in climate science through which we can derive knowledge and make decisions under deep uncertainty. The decisions we take are the result of the complex interplay between social, (geo-)political and economic actors, and involve moral and economic assumptions and considerations. The effects may not become clear for a long time, and will affect future generations for years to come.  How can we influence and imagine a future so different from the world as we know it today? 

Alessandro Taberna is a PhD candidate at the Department of Multi Actor Systems, Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management. His current research focuses on how the autonomous adaptation of interacting heterogeneous households and firms affects regional climate-induced damages and socio-economic resilience.

Daniëlle Arets is professor of journalism and innovation at Fontys University of Applied Sciences. Her research focuses on shaping the future of journalism through design research, investigating technology trends and creating meaningful future narratives.

Lisette van Beek recently obtained her PhD at the Environmental Governance group and the Urban Futures Studio at the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development. She is actively involved in the European research project CLIMAGINARIES, which aims at exploring and finding new ways in which climate futures are imagined, narrated and employed.

Moderator Aafke Fraaije is a postdoctoral researcher at the Ethics & Philosophy group at TU Delft, researching how we can have meaningful conversations about climate change. And how art can help us. 

Stage 3. Anger

21 November 2023
We are all affected, but not equally. Through climate change, global injustices have become manifest as a physical reality. The solutions that we design to mitigate these changes are not morally neutral. Can we make sure that what we do next benefits all inhabitants of our planet?

Stage 4. Bargaining

12 December 2023
We like to fix things, and there is no shortage of big ideas at the TU Delft. Maybe there’s a bargain to be struck, and we can engineer our way out of the climate crisis. We will assess the risks and opportunities of geoengineering and other radical solutions.

Stage 5. Acceptance

TBA
We will tackle our emotions head-on through a staging and discussion of the play Adem (Breath) by Stijn Dijkema. What does it mean to reconcile yourself to climate grief? Are we giving up or facing up to reality? Whether you still believe we can leave a habitable planet for future generations, or simply want to prevent further suffering, this is a play you won’t want to miss.