DCU team to coordinate Horizon Europe climate and democracy grant, as co-lead plays role in new research centre

Over the next 3 years, the RETOOL project seeks to both address the climate crisis and also reinvigorate and strengthen democratic processes and structures. The project posits that these are ‘twin challenges’ which are linked, and it seeks to deepen understanding of the relationship between them. The project will begin on 1st February 2024 and is worth just over  €640,000 in direct funding to DCU.

RETOOL brings together an international and interdisciplinary consortium, with partners from across Europe combining expertise in political science, political sociology, deliberative democracy, environmental law, European studies, and public administration.

Dr Diarmuid Torney (inset) will head up the project along with Dr Markus Pauli and Dr Goran Dominioni. Torney is also a theme lead with the new €41.3 million research co-centre Climate +. Hosted by Trinity College Dublin, the new centre will bring together multidisciplinary research expertise to tackle climate change, biodiversity loss, and water degradation in Ireland and the UK.

The Climate+ project is due to commence on 1st January 2024 and will initially run for six years. It is funded by Science Foundation Ireland, Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs of Northern Ireland, and UK Research & Innovation.

Much like the Centre for Climate and Society at DCU, this team brings together expertise from the School of Communications, School of Law & Government and DCU Business School to tackle the societal dimensions of climate change, energy and biodiversity. The Centre for Climate and Society is Ireland’s first academic research centre devoted to promoting perspectives on climate change from the social sciences and humanities.