We’re excited to share the latest updates on the Horizon Europe RETOOL project!

RETOOL project is on a journey of research and dialogue to open conversations on climate democracy and provide fresh perspectives on existing practices and innovations across key domains to deepen the understanding of the relationship between democratic governance and the climate imperative.

It aims to identify new frameworks to address the climate crisis's complexity, urgency, and long-term impacts and contribute to the strengthening and revitalising democratic governance in Europe more broadly!

International Interdisciplinary Workshop

The Past and Present of Climate Activism

Contestation, Democracy, and Change

School of International Studies, University of Trento, 11-12 June 2026

The School of International Studies Environment Research Cluster is excited to host an international workshop within the European project RETOOL – Strengthening democratic governance for climate transitions. The workshop contributes to research on climate movements, democracy and change within the RETOOL project, and will explore the interactions between climate movements, democratic transformations, the politics of knowledge, and processes of political and social change. The aim of the workshop is to build our understandings of how contestation, politicisation and collective emotions have influenced, and continue to influence, climate and environmental policies and politics in Europe, and how these experiences can inform a climate democracy that allows us to forge responses to climate change and environmental degradation with stronger democratic processes and public participation in decision-making. A central question guides the workshop: what lessons can be drawn from social movements and activism, past and present, to reinforce democracy in climate governance?

The workshop aims to promote dialogue between historical, sociological, socio-legal and political science approaches, with a broad interdisciplinary orientation. We welcome both empirically grounded research and theoretical or conceptual contributions that connect historical analysis, political science and sociological debates over climate/environmental movements and politics. The aim is to explore the linkages between activism, climate justice and democratic innovation.

We invite proposals addressing these and other related themes, both in their historical evolution and in their contemporary dimension:

· Democratic innovations and prefigurative practices in climate justice movement

- Experiments in participation, deliberation, and self-organisation within movements that struggle for distributive, procedural, recognitional, corrective, and transitional justice.
- Connections between activism and institutions: from citizens’ assemblies to hybrid forms of climate governance.
- The emotional and affective aspects of democratic involvement in CJM.

· Conflict, politicisation, and contestation

- How social movements use different bodies of knowledge in problematising environmental and climate issues and technologies.
- How do environmental mobilisations and conflicts intersect with democratic change and innovation.
- Interactions and contestation between movements and scientific knowledge: how activism reshapes epistemic authority.
- The role of emotions and imagination in activism and democratic claims and practices.

· Temporalities and scales of climate governance

- The tension between urgency and long-term perspectives: how movements address the challenge of rapid decisions and profound transformations.
- Multilevel dynamics: interactions between local, national, European, and global arenas.
- Continuity and change across moments of climate activism.

Submission guidelines

- Abstracts must be written in English, with a maximum length of 400 words, and should be accompanied by a short biographical note (max 150 words).
- Proposals should be sent by 9th January 2025 to alice.dalgobbo@unitn.it with the subject line ‘International workshop abstract’
- Notification of acceptance will be sent by 31 January 2026.
- The workshop will be held in English.

Practical information

-The workshop will take place at the University of Trento, School of International Studies (via Tommaso Gar 14, Trento), on 11–12 June 2026.
-There are no fees for workshop participation. The organisers will contribute to cover accommodation and meal costs. Participants are expected to cover their own travel costs.
-A selection of papers may be considered for publication in a collective volume edited within the RETOOL project.

A workshop has been organised by DCU on the 8th and 9th September 2025 focusing on the theme of deliberative democracy and the climate & ecological crisis.

On the 8th, DCU welcomed a range of project stakeholders from Ireland and further afield to discuss our emerging findings. That evening we were delighted to host a public lecture by Anthony Zacharzewski, President of Democratic Society, who is a member of the RETOOL project advisory board. The lecture also served to mark the start of the new academic year here at Dublin City University. On the 9th our discussions continued with an internal project meeting to review progress and plan our next steps. All of the proceedings were captured in real time through incredible illustrations by the wonderful Hazel Hurley.

RETOOL partners gathered in Ghent, Belgium, for the second consortium meeting. Filled with insightful discussions on ongoing work, research exchanges and future events. The meeting highlighted the partners' shared commitment to advancing climate democracy each contributing their unique expertise while working toward a stronger collective vision. We were also joined online by our sister projects, CO-SUSTAIN and DEMETRA, who presented their impactful work. Together, we explored opportunities for joint activities in the future. A special thanks to our partners at Ghent University for hosting and organizing the successful meeting.

• UACES 55th Annual Conference 2025
• 8th Young European Law Scholars Conference
• Presentation of research paper at the ECPR Joint Sessions of Workshops, Charles University
• Participation at the workshops "The Electoral Politics of Climate Change at a Time of Polycrisis: Challenges and Opportunities" & “Illiberal Derisking and the Run on Resources”
• Participation at the workshop “Emotions and Society in Italy”, organised by the International Sociological Association (ISA)

The European Commission’s Strategic Dialogues aim to involve stakeholders in key debates, from agriculture to the green transition. But are they truly inclusive, transparent and deliberative or just a box-ticking exercise?

Our consortium partners, Lea Schewe, Simon Otto and Sebastian Oberthür argue that these dialogues could be a game-changer for EU democracy, but only if the Commission fixes three critical flaws:

Corporate voices consistently dominate the discussions, sidelining NGOs, independent experts and the broader public interest. Meanwhile, meetings unfold behind closed doors with little transparency, no proper records, no public access, and no way to track how input shapes policy. Finally, many dialogues are performative listening exercises, with no space for genuine debate or meaningful exchange of ideas. One exception: The 2024 Agriculture Dialogue which actually worked. So why isn’t the EU learning from it?

Read the full article

A new paper analyses 150 studies on Europe's pandemic response to extract vital lessons for Climate Democracy. The pandemic exposed institutional weaknesses but also opened space for innovation. We must move beyond mere resilience to democratic renewal. Read the key findings on justice, participation and institutional strength.

Read the paper here: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16893716

Climate Models aren't just about energy, they are about people and power too. The new study from RETOOL provides a critical analysis of the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs), the foundational scenarios used by the IPCC. Models that are not taking into consideration the dynamics of participation, accountability and justice risk designing transition pathways that are technically sound but socially and politically fragile. Enhancing the SSP framework to better reflect governance is crucial for building resilient and legitimate climate strategies.

Read the paper here: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16893988

Join us in zenodo

A new paper from RETOOL is analyzing post-disaster mobilizations in Italy, Germany, and Poland. It finds that movements fighting issues like the Seveso disaster and nuclear plant controversies did more than just protest.

They forced environmental concerns into decision-making and challenged governments' opaque, technocratic risk management. Their demands introduced new democratic practices, allowing citizens to raise scientific and moral questions in public deliberation. This transformation was an unintended but profound consequence of early activism. However, the study concludes these ambitious outcomes were only partially achieved, as deeper proposals for transforming European democracies remained marginalized.

Read the paper here: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1689386

Send us an email for any questions or to express interest in the RETOOL research.

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