{"id":3395,"date":"2026-04-13T03:10:22","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T00:10:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.abo.fi\/centre-for-sustainable-ocean-science\/?page_id=3395"},"modified":"2026-04-18T00:06:46","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T21:06:46","slug":"facts-fictions-futures","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.abo.fi\/centre-for-sustainable-ocean-science\/yhys-colloquium-2026\/facts-fictions-futures\/","title":{"rendered":"THEME"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"533\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.abo.fi\/centre-for-sustainable-ocean-science\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2026\/04\/Banner_NEW-scaled.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3584\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.abo.fi\/centre-for-sustainable-ocean-science\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2026\/04\/Banner_NEW-scaled.png 2560w, https:\/\/sites.abo.fi\/centre-for-sustainable-ocean-science\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2026\/04\/Banner_NEW-300x62.png 300w, https:\/\/sites.abo.fi\/centre-for-sustainable-ocean-science\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2026\/04\/Banner_NEW-1024x213.png 1024w, https:\/\/sites.abo.fi\/centre-for-sustainable-ocean-science\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2026\/04\/Banner_NEW-768x160.png 768w, https:\/\/sites.abo.fi\/centre-for-sustainable-ocean-science\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2026\/04\/Banner_NEW-1536x320.png 1536w, https:\/\/sites.abo.fi\/centre-for-sustainable-ocean-science\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2026\/04\/Banner_NEW-2048x427.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<header class=\"wp-block-group alignwide is-horizontal is-content-justification-space-between is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d880b7ee wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\" style=\"border-style:none;border-width:0px;border-top-left-radius:0px;border-top-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-left-radius:0px;border-bottom-right-radius:0px;min-height:0px;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;padding-top:0;padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);padding-bottom:0;padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);line-height:0.3\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-ad2f72ca wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<p>\n  <a href=\"http:\/\/yhys.net\" style=\"color: black;text-decoration: none\">\n    <span style=\"font-weight: 600\">YHYS<\/span>\n  <\/a>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-ad2f72ca wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<p><a style=\"color: black;text-decoration: none\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.abo.fi\/centre-for-sustainable-ocean-science\/yhys-colloquium-2026\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 600\">Colloquium<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-ad2f72ca wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<p>\n  <a href=\"https:\/\/sites.abo.fi\/centre-for-sustainable-ocean-science\/yhys-colloquium-2026\/facts-fictions-futures\/\" style=\"color: #000082;text-decoration: none\">\n    <strong>Theme<\/strong>\n  <\/a>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<p>\n  <a href=\"https:\/\/sites.abo.fi\/centre-for-sustainable-ocean-science\/yhys-colloquium-2026\/tba\" style=\"color: black;text-decoration: none\">\n    <span style=\"font-weight: 600\">Keynotes<\/span>\n  <\/a>\n<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-ad2f72ca wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<p>\n  <a href=\"https:\/\/sites.abo.fi\/centre-for-sustainable-ocean-science\/yhys-colloquium-2026\/tba\/\" style=\"color: black;text-decoration: none\">\n    <span style=\"font-weight: 600\">PhD Event<\/span>\n  <\/a>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-ad2f72ca wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<p>\n  <a href=\"https:\/\/sites.abo.fi\/centre-for-sustainable-ocean-science\/yhys-colloquium-2026\/call-for-sessions\/\" style=\"color: black;text-decoration: none\">\n    <span style=\"font-weight: 600\">Calls<\/span>\n  <\/a>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-ad2f72ca wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<p>\n  <a href=\"https:\/\/sites.abo.fi\/centre-for-sustainable-ocean-science\/yhys-colloquium-2026\/tba\/\" style=\"color: black;text-decoration: none\">\n    <span style=\"font-weight: 600\">Sessions<\/span>\n  <\/a>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-ad2f72ca wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<p>\n  <a href=\"https:\/\/sites.abo.fi\/centre-for-sustainable-ocean-science\/yhys-colloquium-2026\/tba\/\" style=\"color: black;text-decoration: none\">\n    <span style=\"font-weight: 600\">Program<\/span>\n  <\/a>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-ad2f72ca wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<p class=\"has-theme-palette-1-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-693772819aca25c1234c679fad78c31e\"><a style=\"color: black;text-decoration: none\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.abo.fi\/centre-for-sustainable-ocean-science\/yhys-colloquium-2026\/registration\"><span style=\"font-weight: 600\">Registration<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-ad2f72ca wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-ad2f72ca wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<p>\n  <a href=\"https:\/\/sites.abo.fi\/centre-for-sustainable-ocean-science\/yhys-colloquium-2026\/organizers\/\" style=\"color: black;text-decoration: none\">\n    <span style=\"font-weight: 600\">Organizers<\/span>\n  <\/a>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n\n\n<style>.wp-block-kadence-spacer.kt-block-spacer-3395_47d61f-ef .kt-block-spacer{height:20px;}.wp-block-kadence-spacer.kt-block-spacer-3395_47d61f-ef .kt-divider{border-top-width:1px;height:1px;border-top-color:#eee;width:95%;border-top-style:solid;}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-spacer alignwide kt-block-spacer-3395_47d61f-ef\"><div class=\"kt-block-spacer kt-block-spacer-halign-center\"><hr class=\"kt-divider\" \/><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading alignwide has-theme-palette-1-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-b3bebb7cd801fb2ece1bc57e69e7d646\" style=\"padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);font-style:normal;font-weight:600\">Facts, Fictions and Sustainable Futures<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignwide\" style=\"padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40)\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-8cd669b9 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<p><p style=\"text-align: justify;font-size: 18px\">\nDespite the urgency of contemporary environmental crises, environmental action continues to encounter persistent and, in some contexts, intensifying resistance. Recent years have seen a growing wave of policy reversal and backlash, including growing opposition to the European Green Deal and (other) climate initiatives and the dismantling of environmental policies and institutions in the United States and elsewhere (e.g. Patterson 2023; van der Sluis 2023; Fiorino 2025). Yet, these dynamics do not unfold in the context of total erosion of trust or concern. In many societies, public awareness of environmental problems remains high and trust in institutions persists, albeit unevenly (Fairbrother et al., 2019; Franzen &amp; Bahr, 2024). This blend of environmental concern and contestation of action points to the need for closer examination of how environmental knowledge is produced, circulated, mobilised and challenged in contemporary societies.\n<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;font-size: 18px\">\n<span style=\"font-weight: 600\">The YHYS Fall Colloquium 2026 brings together perspectives from environmental social sciences to examine the roles of facts and fictions in shaping sustainable futures.<\/span> We understand facts not as neutral or uncontested, but as embedded in social, political and epistemic processes (e.g. Hajer 1995, Jasanoff &amp; Kim 2019), and fictions not only as falsehoods, but also as narratives, imaginaries and strategic constructions that influence how environmental problems and solutions are understood (e.g. Celermajer et al. 2024; Lyytim\u00e4ki 2023; Sokolova 2023). The interplay between facts and fictions is central to processes such as climate obstruction, environmental policy backsliding and the proliferation of climate denial and disinformation, as well as to the strategic use of environmental arguments as scapegoats or political resources (Toivanen &amp; L\u00e4hde 2024; Krange et al. 2021; Lamb et al. 2020; Korppoo, Tynkkynen &amp; H\u00f8nneland 2015).\n<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;font-size: 18px\">\nAttention should also be directed to the power relations that shape whose knowledge counts, which voices are heard, and how expertise, uncertainty and ignorance are mobilized in environmental decision-making. These dynamics raise critical questions about the role of environmental knowledge in political contexts marked by competing priorities, entrenched interests and uneven capacities for action. They also invite reflection on how knowledge can be translated into compelling narratives capable of mobilizing action and countering resistance (Oreskes &amp; Convey 2010; Arnal, Hilson &amp; McKinnon 2019), as fictions are not only obstacles to environmental action but can also play a generative role (Milkoreit 2017). Narratives, imaginaries and speculative visions can help make future possibilities tangible, cultivate hope fostering collective engagement, and challenge dominant framings that sustain the status quo (McKinnon 2014). The entanglement of facts and fictions thus shapes not only how environmental crises are understood, but also how possible futures are envisioned and pursued.\n<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;font-size: 18px\">\n<span style=\"font-weight: 600\">YHYS Fall Colloquium 2026<\/span> invites contributions that explore these dynamics and their implications for sustainability governance and action. How can environmental social sciences illuminate and intervene in these processes in order to support pathways towards more sustainable futures?\n<\/p><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading alignwide has-theme-palette-1-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-ea31606f587e480c42e3670cfa1f41b3\" style=\"padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);font-style:normal;font-weight:600\"><br>References<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignwide has-medium-font-size\" style=\"padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40)\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-8cd669b9 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<p class=\"has-theme-palette-4-color has-text-color has-link-color has-small-font-size wp-elements-b3b2277876c2a401130f2ed0a4c1a9a6\"><span style=\"margin-bottom: 0.4em\"><span style=\"font-weight:600\">Arnall, A., Hilson, C., &amp; McKinnon, C.<\/span> (2019). Climate displacement and resettlement: the importance of claims-making \u2018from below\u2019. <em>Climate Policy<\/em>, <em>19<\/em>(6), 665-671.<\/span><br><br><span style=\"margin-bottom: 0.4em\"><span style=\"font-weight:600\">Celermajer, D., Cardoso, M., Gowers, J\u2026 Wright, G.<\/span> (2024). Climate imaginaries as praxis. <em>Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space<\/em>, 7(3), 1015-1033.<\/span><br><br><span style=\"margin-bottom: 0.4em\"><span style=\"font-weight:600\">Fairbrother, M., Johansson Sev\u00e4, I., &amp; Kulin, J.<\/span> (2019). Political trust and the relationship between climate change beliefs and support for fossil fuel taxes: Evidence from a survey of 23 European countries. <em>Global Environmental Change<\/em>, 59.<\/span><br><br><span style=\"margin-bottom: 0.4em\"><span style=\"font-weight:600\">Fiorino, D. J.<\/span> (2025). What Does a Second Trump Term Mean for US Environmental Policy? <em>Policy Quarterly<\/em>, <em>21<\/em>(1), 46-49.<\/span><br><br><span style=\"margin-bottom: 0.4em\"><span style=\"font-weight:600\">Franzen, A., &amp; Bahr, S.<\/span> (2024). The development of global environmental concern during the last three decades. <em>Current Research in Environmental Sustainability<\/em>, 8(June), 100260.<\/span><br><br><span style=\"margin-bottom: 0.4em\"><span style=\"font-weight:600\">Hajer, M.<\/span> (1995). <em>The Politics of Environmental Discourse: Ecological Modernization and the Policy Process<\/em>. Oxford University Press.<\/span><br><br><span style=\"margin-bottom: 0.4em\"><span style=\"font-weight:600\">Jasanoff, S., &amp; Kim, S. H. (Eds.).<\/span> (2019). <em>Dreamscapes of modernity: Sociotechnical imaginaries and the fabrication of power<\/em>. University of Chicago Press.<\/span><br><br><span style=\"margin-bottom: 0.4em\"><span style=\"font-weight:600\">Korppoo, A., Tynkkynen, N. &amp; H\u00f8nneland, G.<\/span> (2015). <em>Russia and the politics of international environmental regimes: Environmental encounters or foreign policy?<\/em> Edward Elgar Publishing.<\/span><br><br><span style=\"margin-bottom: 0.4em\"><span style=\"font-weight:600\">Krange, O., Kaltenborn, B. P. &amp; Hultman, M.<\/span> (2021). \u201cDon\u2019t confuse me with facts\u201d\u2014how right wing populism affects trust in agencies advocating anthropogenic climate change as a reality. <em>Humanities and Social Sciences Communications<\/em>, <em>8<\/em>(1).<\/span><br><br><span style=\"margin-bottom: 0.4em\"><span style=\"font-weight:600\">Lamb W.F., Mattioli G., Levi, S. et al.<\/span> (2020). Discourses of climate delay. <em>Global Sustainability<\/em> 3, e17, 1\u20135.<\/span><br><br><span style=\"margin-bottom: 0.4em\"><span style=\"font-weight:600\">Lyytim\u00e4ki, J.<\/span> (2023). Storylines nailing or failing sustainability: Energy, mining and mobility as narrative arenas for societal transition. <em>Sustainable Development<\/em> 31(1): 1\u2013586.<\/span><br><br><span style=\"margin-bottom: 0.4em\"><span style=\"font-weight:600\">McKinnon, C.<\/span> (2014). Climate change: Against despair. <em>Ethics &amp; the Environment<\/em>, <em>19<\/em>(1), 31-48.<\/span><br><br><span style=\"margin-bottom: 0.4em\"><span style=\"font-weight:600\">Milkoreit, M.<\/span> (2017). Imaginary politics: Climate change and making the future. <em>Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene<\/em>, <em>5<\/em>, 62.<\/span><br><br><span style=\"margin-bottom: 0.4em\"><span style=\"font-weight:600\">Oreskes, N., Conway, E.<\/span> (2010). Defeating the merchants of doubt. <em>Nature<\/em> 465, 686\u2013687.<\/span><br><br><span style=\"margin-bottom: 0.4em\"><span style=\"font-weight:600\">Patterson, J. J.<\/span> (2023). Backlash to climate policy. <em>Global Environmental Politics<\/em>, <em>23<\/em>(1), 68-90.<\/span><br><br><span style=\"margin-bottom: 0.4em\"><span style=\"font-weight:600\">van der Sluis, M.<\/span> (2023). The European Green Deal Paradox \u2013 remarkably successful, but falling short? <em>Maastricht Journal of European and Comparative Law<\/em>, <em>30<\/em>(3), 231-235.<\/span><br><br><span><span style=\"font-weight:600\">Sokolova, T.<\/span> (2023). Co-producing \u2018The Future(s) We Want\u2019: How does political imagination translate into democratised knowledge-action models for sustainability transformations? <em>Environmental Science &amp; Policy<\/em>, <em>144<\/em>, 162-173.<\/span><br><br><span><span style=\"font-weight:600\">Toivanen, T. &amp; L\u00e4hde, V.<\/span><\/span> (2024). Reaalipoliittinen ilmastoasiantuntijuus ilmastotoimien est\u00e4j\u00e4n\u00e4. <em>Tiede &amp; Edistys<\/em>, 1-2: 12\u201337.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<style>.wp-block-kadence-spacer.kt-block-spacer-3395_08dd6e-43 .kt-block-spacer{height:60px;}.wp-block-kadence-spacer.kt-block-spacer-3395_08dd6e-43 .kt-divider{border-top-width:1px;height:1px;border-top-color:var(--global-palette9, #ffffff);width:80%;border-top-style:solid;}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-spacer aligncenter kt-block-spacer-3395_08dd6e-43\"><div class=\"kt-block-spacer kt-block-spacer-halign-center\"><hr class=\"kt-divider\" \/><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>YHYS Colloquium Theme Keynotes PhD Event Calls Sessions Program Registration Organizers Facts, Fictions and Sustainable Futures Despite the urgency of contemporary environmental crises, environmental action continues to encounter persistent and, in some contexts, intensifying resistance. Recent years have seen a growing wave of policy reversal and backlash, including growing opposition to the European Green Deal&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":0,"parent":3306,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"normal","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-3395","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"lang":"en","translations":{"en":3395},"taxonomy_info":[],"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":{"display_name":"jlinsen","author_link":"https:\/\/sites.abo.fi\/centre-for-sustainable-ocean-science\/author\/test-11\/"},"comment_info":0,"pll_sync_post":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.abo.fi\/centre-for-sustainable-ocean-science\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3395","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.abo.fi\/centre-for-sustainable-ocean-science\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.abo.fi\/centre-for-sustainable-ocean-science\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.abo.fi\/centre-for-sustainable-ocean-science\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.abo.fi\/centre-for-sustainable-ocean-science\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3395"}],"version-history":[{"count":57,"href":"https:\/\/sites.abo.fi\/centre-for-sustainable-ocean-science\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3395\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4223,"href":"https:\/\/sites.abo.fi\/centre-for-sustainable-ocean-science\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3395\/revisions\/4223"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.abo.fi\/centre-for-sustainable-ocean-science\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3306"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.abo.fi\/centre-for-sustainable-ocean-science\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3395"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}