Professor Karen O’Brien is Professor in the Department of Sociology and Human Geography at the University of Oslo, Norway, and the Chair of the IHDP Global Environmental Change and Human Security Project (GECHS).
Professor O’Brien received a BA degree in International Relations in 1985 from the College of William and Mary, Virginia, US, and MSc in Land Resources (Institute for Environmental Studies) from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, US, in 1990. She receiveed a PhD in geography in 1995 from the Pennsylvania State University, US.
Karen O’Brien’s interdisciplinary background is reflected in her research interests, which focus on interactions between environmental and social processes. Research on topics such as climate change and tropical deforestation in Mexico, the use of seasonal climate forecasts in Southern Africa, the convergence of vulnerability to trade liberalization and climate change in India, and vulnerability and adaptation to climate change in Norway has emphasized human security perspectives on global environmental change. Together with Robin Leichenko at Rutgers University, US, she has developed a “double exposure” framework for examining how multiple processes of change intersect and interact to influence equity, resilience and sustainability. More recently, her research has used an integral framework to examine how values and worldviews influence the capacity to respond to change. Her main publications include Sacrificing the Forest: Environmental and Social Struggles in Chiapas (1998); Coping with Climate Variability: The Use of Seasonal Climate Forecasts in Southern Africa (2003); Environmental Change and Globalization: Double Exposures (2008) and Adapting to Climate Change: Thresholds, Values, Governance (2009).
Interview
- What made you decide to get involved with the RESCUE foresight initiative?
At first glance I was skeptical to RESCUE, considering it just another initiative to foster interdisciplinary research on environmental change. However, upon reading the proposal more carefully I recognized a commitment to something different and daring. The vision articulated by RESCUE, combined with ‘forward look’ methodologies, presents an opportunity to develop something that can be innovative and important. I decided to get involved because I am convinced that we need to adopt an integral framework that recognizes multiple types of knowledge, and creates a space for contributions from all disciplines, in order to effectively respond to the unprecedented challenges of environmental change. Although the “earth systems” framework has been incredibly important, it allow little room for the subjective dimensions of individuals and societies, including how culture, values, worldviews, and beliefs influence understandings of global change, and more important, shape human responses to these changes.
- In your field, what are the most urgent issues at stake for our unstable Earth?
From my perspective as a human geographer, the most urgent issue at stake is to better understand human responses to environmental change, both individually and collectively. Until recently, the prevailing idea has been that through research we can “figure out” how to respond over a long time horizon. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that this is a fallacy, and that society needs to respond immediately to prevent the irreversible impacts of climate change, biodiversity loss, and other environmental changes. So much is at stake, yet so many are not yet aware of the systems-wide consequences of processes such as climate change. Although the scientific community has focused on understanding the human drivers of environmental change, there is a strong need to understand how individuals and groups respond to these changes, and the implications of responses for equity and sustainability. It is important to recognize that not every adaptation or response will create positive outcomes – one person or group’s adaptation can mean increased vulnerability for others, including future generations. Consequently, we need to think in terms of sustainable responses.
- What are your ambitions for how RESCUE could help address these challenges – how could it help in the short and long term?
RESCUE will bring together a group of European and international scientists to address the unprecedented challenges that humanity is now facing. My ambition is to prioritize the short term, because the actions and initiatives taken in the next few years will establish the context for long-term activities. I hope that RESCUE will contribute to a global-scale initiative to transform education and capacity building, bringing together knowledge and practices that can be applied to different contexts and conditions. Above all, I would like the RESCUE initiative to support the emerging global movement that seeks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by the year 2020. The 2020 Climate Change Leadership Campaign needs to have a strong scientific basis, and it will require a true revolution in both education and capacity building.
- How do you interpret the word “revolution” in the title of the RESCUE Working Group you are chairing?
Actually, I thought a lot about this before agreeing to lead the working group on “towards a revolution in education and adaptive capacity.” I interpret the mandate of the working group quite literally, whereby a “revolution” is defined as a sudden, radical, or complete change, or as a fundamental change in the way of thinking about or visualizing something; i.e., a change of paradigm. To move towards a revolution in education and capacity building, we have to be able to see things differently, and this means examining our own assumptions and beliefs, as well as those that are embedded in society and in our educational systems. Are we indoctrinating people with fear and environmental determinism, or are we empowering them as agents of change? Do we understand non-linearity and complexity in terms of social responses?
- You are the chair of the IHDP Environmental Change and Human Security project (GECHS). How do you hope the collaboration between GECHS and RESCUE could benefit both projects?
The GECHS project, which is in its final synthesis phase, is a multidisciplinary research initiative that has first and foremost emphasized a need to reframe global environmental issues such as climate change, to see them not as “environmental” problems, but as problems that are intrinsically linked to social, economic, and development conditions and trends. These problems are first and foremost issues of human security, and to respond we need to go much deeper into the human dimensions, understanding human and societal development and evolution, which means moving beyond the Darwinian notion of “survival of the fittest” towards a more holistic understanding of individual and collective human security. The GECHS project draws on a wide network of scientists, particularly from social sciences and humanities, and it is my hope this community can be mobilized for RESCUE.
- How have your experiences in North America contributed to your view on European global change research?
My educational experiences in North America have had a strong influence on my view of global change research. I went to a liberal arts college that emphasized both breadth and depth in education, and my undergraduate and masters degrees were both interdisciplinary. My PhD in geography can also be considered interdisciplinary, as it included climate change, atmosphere-biosphere interactions, remote sensing and GIS, and an analysis of the political ecology of deforestation. The challenge in Europe is to break down some of the walls that exist between disciplines and faculties, and to place much greater attention on the interface between subjective and objective realities. For example, how do culture, values, and beliefs influence behaviors and systems? How do technologies impact upon behaviors and culture? We need to recognize that the arts, humanity, law, medicine, theology—essentially all fields—can contribute to an integral understanding of global change.
