As part of the 'Shaping Interfaces Between Science and the Public' Seminar Series
The causes and consequences of climate change have been well researched and documented, and the reports of the IPCC have an almost undisputed reputation among scientists and can generally be considered as knowledge with a high level of consensus. However, determining the consequences of climate change at national, regional and local levels remains incredibly difficult, and there is enormous variety in national adaptation plans. Environmental, physical, technological and socio-economic differences can be highly variable, even on small scales. Decisions about the measures to be taken require significant investment, unequal distributions of damages and costs, long technological trajectories and often have irreversible consequences.
Interfaces are tools designed to facilitate interaction between science and society. They can take many forms, such as a website, an app, an exhibition or a civic platform. By developing climate change interfaces, citizens, policymakers and scientists themselves could become more aware of the complexity of climate research and how knowledge is combined with political desires and strategic policy choices.
This seminar explores the potential of such interfaces for addressing important questions surrounding climate change scenarios, i.e., possible futures and ways of living with a changing climate. For instance, what is the scientific basis for these scenarios? What about political support and societal consensus? Who are they intended for, what actions do they require, and who is expected to act on their basis? And do they acknowledge climate justice questions? The session will tackle questions such as these through presentations and discussions with three interdisciplinary experts.
12.30 Lunch in the IAS Common Room
13.00 Start of the Program: Welcome and opening (IAS Library 2nd floor)
13.05 Introduction to the theme by Huub Dijstelbloem: ‘Climate Change Scenarios and Interfaces’
13.15 – 14.15:
• Dr. Ed Dammers, PBL: climate change scenario’s and society
• Dr. Christel van Eck, UvA: climate change scenario’s and communication with the public
• Dr. Jeroen Oomen, UU: climate change scenario’s and imagination
14.15-14.45 Break
14.45 – 15.30 Break Out Sessions
15.30 – 16.30 Plenary discussions and exploring further research questions and collaborations
Dr. Ed Dammers carries out foresight studies in the fields of spatial planning, nature, the environment and water. These studies are conducted at national and regional levels. Ed is currently coordinating the Future Lab, in which PBL is experimenting with new methods, processes and principles for doing foresight studies. He is also one of the initiators of the Foresight Learning Community for the Delta Programme, which is working on a new generation of scenarios. In 2000, Ed obtained his PhD from Leiden University on the use of future scenarios in strategic government policy. In 1989, he graduated cum laude from the Department of Sociology of Planning and Policy at Utrecht University.
Dr. Christel van Eck is an Assistant Professor at the Amsterdam School of Communication Research. Her research is motivated by questions about the role of communication in polarized climate discourse and how communication can be improved. Her main research interests include climate change communication, science communication, and polarization. Supported by an NWO Veni grant, she currently investigates the boundaries of climate activism by scientists. Her research is grounded in practice, with a strong focus on fostering exchange between academic research and practice, including through her work with the KlimaatHelpdesk and the IPCC.
Dr. Jeroen Oomen is an Assistant Professor at the Urban Futures Studio, where he researches the social, cultural, and scientific practices that create societies’ conceptions of the future. Oomen is a recognized expert on futuring, environmental politics, and climate engineering. His books include 'Captured Futures: Rethinking the Drama of Environmental Politics' (with Maarten Hajer; 2025), reviewed in Nature as "arguably the most important book on environmental politics in the past decade”, and 'Imagining Climate Engineering: Dreaming of the Designer Climate' (2021).