Highly visible REMASS contribution at the Future Earth Conference in Lausanne 2026

Towards a just and habitable world: exploring the role of technology
Future Earth Conference at University of Lausanne
2-5 June 2026

REMASS Researchers assumed key roles in organizing two sessions at the high-level conference jointly organized by the University of Lausanne, the Université Paris-Cité and Future Earth's Pathway Initiative attended by around 300 scientists from around the globe:

• "Shifting grounds: Critical raw materials between technological change, territorial politics and geopolitical reordering"
  - co-organized by Felix Dorn (BOKU, Institute of Social Ecology) and Aleksandra Wojewska (University of Vienna)
  
  This session brought together insights from political ecology, economic geography, science and technology studies, and socio-metabolic research to advance critical understandings of Critical Raw Material (CRM) transitions. The four presentations examined how corporate strategies shape global copper supply chains, how micropolitical negotiations at lithium and rare earth extraction sites in Argentina shape the terms under which communities engage with extractive industries, how decisions about battery chemistry are embedded in institutional contexts and market expectations, and how lithium's exceptional discursive status might be repurposed to serve priorities beyond corporate interests. The session attracted lively engagement from across the conference's disciplinary spectrum.

• "How much / which technology for resilient provisioning systems?"
  - organized by Magdalena Klotz (BOKU, Institute of Social Ecology), Sarah Ware (CEU) and Anke Schaffartzik (CEU)

  The session featured a range of short presentations on current research into provisioning systems within and beyond REMASS. This variegated set of talks covered case study research on active mobility and paratransit in often-flooded livelihoods in India, discussed critical raw materials and their governance, an ongoing systematic review on provisioning systems, the possible contribution of circular economy options for reducing GHG emissions, as well as a conceptual talk on resilience and malleability. A comment by Sofia Avila from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México provided invaluable reflections. A highly insightful discussion followed and will inspire future work in REMASS.

Anke Schaffartzik, together with Nathalie Blanc, co-organized and chaired the first plenary session at the conference on "Technologies to Address Environmental Change: Perspectives on Justice".
Two keynote speakers (Sofia Avila, National Autonomous University of Mexico) and Jennifer Gabrys (University of Cambridge) provided rich inputs that inspired a lively debate.

Helmut Haberl was involved in organizing and co-chairing a keynote session on phasing out of harmful technologies, together with Julia Steinberger (UNIL). Engaged and highly insightful lectures were given by Stefan Pauliuk (Uni Freiburg), Melanie Pichler (BOKU, Social Ecology) and Yamina Saheb (Science Po), followed by a lively plenary debate.