In this podcast episode Professor Susan Park discusses the key issues of the mining of critical minerals with PhD student Christopher Hall.
Podcasts
Just published: Governing the Dark Side of Renewable Energy: A Typology of Global Displacements /
My new article published in Energy Research & Social Science, co-authored with Teresa Kramarz and Craig Johnson, is available to read and access free until April 21 2021.
Kramarz, Teresa, Susan Park, and Craig Johnson. “Governing the Dark Side of Renewable Energy: A Typology of Global Displacements.” Energy Research & Social Science 74 (2021): 101902.
Abstract
Renewable energy (RE) is critical for curbing global greenhouse gas emissions to achieve 2 to 4 degrees of global warming by 2100. While this is an imperative technical response to the climate crisis, the shift to renewables is also driving a surge in demand for metals and minerals used in RE. Calls are being made for “smarter” and more “responsible” forms of mining, but questions remain about the socio-economic and environmental impacts of extraction, processing, application, and disposal at multiple scales. The literature has been limited to the technical and cost-benefit dimensions of managing RE global supply chains. This article seeks to expand this focus by developing a typology of displacement that may be used to understand the socio-economic and environmental effects of onshore wind, solar photovoltaics (PV), and lithium-ion batteries. It encourages a critical analysis of how the global surge in demand for renewable energy is affecting development pathways and displacement patterns.
Keywords
Renewable energy; Global supply chains; Solar; Wind; Lithium batteries; Displacement; Transition; International political economy; Climate change; Contamination; Dispossession; Dependence
The Sweaty Penguin Podcast: Episode 30, Professor Susan Park on International Accountability /
On The Sweaty Penguin, host Ethan Brown tackles environmental issues with a new topic every week. This week’s topic was international accountability.
International environmental treaties are a fantastic start, but they also regularly struggle because even when a country signs a treaty, they still don’t actually have to do anything. There is no global governing body to enforce agreements, meaning countries often fail to uphold their end of agreements, which is concerning since environmental issues are not isolated to any one country—everyone contributes, and everyone is affected. So how do countries then hold each other accountable? Today, we’ll explore some of the strategies currently used, why they often fail, and some options countries could consider from here to promote environmental progress on the global level. With special guest Dr. Susan Park: Professor of Global Governance at the University of Sydney.
Author Webinar: International Organisations and Global Problems /
On the 29th of September I conducted an author webinar on my recent book International Organisations and Global Problems (CUP, 2018). In the webinar, I canvassed the book’s content and discussed how it can be integrated in a variety of courses in international relations, as well as providing insights on how the book can be used and adapted specifically for online teaching.
You can access the video below, with the following time-stamps to jump to particular sections of the talk and answers to specific questions:
06:08-07:15 Q1 What courses is the book suitable for?
07:16-08:41 Are there chapters suitable for advanced courses?
08:41-9:30 Q3 Feedback from International Organisation
09:31-12:35 Key feature: Flexibility
12:36-16:53 Key feature: Questioning the roles of international organisations
18:07-19:08 Book and chapter structure
19:08-21:02 Q4 How does the book support distance teaching?
21:03-23:22 Q5 Do you define the problems on the nexus of sectors of align them with public sector organisations?
26:02-27:48 Q6 How do you perceive international relations?
27:53-30:45 Using music in synchronous online teaching
30:50-36:02 Q7 How to make students feel part of class online?
36:03-38:45 Assessment and Exams
38:46-41:57 Distance teaching – letting students set their own essay questions
41:57-45:00 Q8 International Organisations and the pandemic
45:00-46:37 Q9 Doesn’t the slow response indicate a lack of authentic collaboration...
46:37-48:23 Q10 How NGOs and individuals can get International Organisations to respond to their needs
Social Sciences Week: The Failure of Multilateralism during the COVID19 Pandemic /
A look at the trends in governing the response to the global pandemic.
The COVID-19 pandemic has put governance systems around the world to the greatest test in living memory. The variation in responses and results has opened up the debate as to the ability of different regimes and international institutions to deliver in moments of crisis.
For instance, citizens of democracies have accepted previously unthinkable restrictions on freedoms, federal systems have seen the complex relationship between the federal government and the states increasingly negotiated, and intergovernmental organisations have not been successful at offsetting the unilateral responses such as border closures and beggar-thy-neighbour fights over medical aid.
Timestamps
00:00 Introduction and Acknowledgement of Country – Stewart Jackson
01:36 Citizen responses to the crisis – Sarah Cameron
10:46 The failure of multilateralism during the global pandemic - Susan Park
20:14 Implications of the pandemic response for domestic political institutions - Rodney Smith
30:18 Understanding the pandemic as a border security challenge - Salvatore Babones
38:50 The operation of the Commonwealth/federalism during the pandemic/bushfires/any other crisis - Stewart Jackson
48:35 Audience Q&A and discussion
Speakers
Dr Sarah Cameron, Government and International Relations, The University of Sydney
Professor Susan Park, Government and International Relations, The University of Sydney
Professor Rodney Smith, Government and International Relations, The University of Sydney
Associate Professor Salvatore Babones, Sociology and Social Policy, The University of Sydney
Dr Stewart Jackson (Chair), Government and International Relations, The University of Sydney
Part of the Governing the Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic panel for the University of Sydney’s Social Sciences Week (SSW), September 9, 2020.
Listen below!:
CISS Global Forum (2020) on The Covid Crisis: Lessons Learned, What Next? /
On June 3, the University of Sydney’s Centre for International Security Studies (CISS) held the Global Forum on the COVID Crisis, asking what next?
You can listen to two of the discussions below:
2020, ‘The COVID Crisis: Lessons Learned, What Next?’, University of Sydney: Centre for International Security Studies (CISS) Global Forum, June 3. Featuring contributions from Susan Park, Justin Hastings, Brendan O’Connor, Aim Sinpeng, and Roy MacLeod.
2020, ‘Ecosecurity Threats and Challenges: COVID19 and Beyond,’ organised and moderated by Susan Park for CISS Global Forum. Featuring Simon Dalby (Waterloo), Prof Lorraine Elliott (ANU), A/Prof Matt McDonald (UQ), and Dr Robert Macneil (Sydney University), June 3.
SSEAC Stories Podcast: Addressing Environmental and Social Harm through Global Governance /
As instruments of global governance, Multilateral Development Banks were created to lend developing states capital for economic growth and development that they could not access from private capital markets. Despite their positive aims, these international organisations have often come under fire and received harsh criticism for their lending practices on economic, political, environmental, and human rights grounds. In particular, the Banks have been the focus of attention for being unaccountable for their actions.
Professor Susan Park chats with Dr Natali Pearson about global governance and Multilateral Development Banks, with a specific focus on accountability mechanisms in the Asian Development Bank.
SSEAC Stories is a podcast series produced by the Sydney Southeast Asia Centre at the University of Sydney. Experts join us in every episode to explore the latest research and share their insights on a wide range of topics pertaining to Southeast Asia.
Listen below!
Keynote Presentation for IWACP 2020 /
On the 26th of May 2020, the Ninth International Workshop on Advances in Cleaner Production was held in Melbourne. You can listen to my keynote presentation, ‘Addressing Environmental and Social Harm through the Independent Accountability Mechanisms of the Multilateral Development Banks,’ which is part of my project on the independent accountability mechanisms.