The research entitled “Complex Realities and Environmental Knowledge: methodological alternatives in environment and society” develops empirical studies and theoretical reflections seeking to understand the processes of social construction of the environment related to the following themes: political ecology; socio-environmental conflicts and vulnerabilities; local development; public policy; environmental education and ethics; tourism and procedural methodologies, aiming to affirm the transformative and critical potential of environmental knowledge that propels the social actor to unveil reality, collective political action and individual autonomy.

My interest in the topic of climate change unfolds from social theory and, in particular, this moment, from political sociology, in addition to being, in itself, an issue of paramount importance for the contemporary world. To the extent that modernity, at the heart of its imaginary and in its institutions, as well as practices, defined “nature” as external to “society”, the former only appears as a possible object of political intervention. How to deal with this problem theoretically and practically, in face of the enormous challenges related to the trajectory of global warming, among other problems generated by climate change, is, therefore, what especially concerns me.

Analysing the European green agenda is based on increasing relevance of the theme in Europe in two main aspects. The first one refers to the implementation of the European Commission\’s “Green Agreement”, launched in December 2019, and the second refers to the increase in electoral support for green parties, identified in elections in Europe that same year. The “Green European Agreement” aims to create, within the framework of the Union\’s regional policies, a series of initiatives and legislative packages that promote the transformation of Europe into the first continent with a neutral climate impact by 2050. At the same time, we have seen civil society support to this agenda by increasing votes for green parties, both in national elections and in the election to the European Parliament. Would the green agenda be a sustainable alternative to ideological extremism and a reflection of changes in focus on environmental impacts related to the economy and immigration? This project will develop research activities, course proposals and lectures.

This project on “Climate Denial in Brazil” is coordinated by Carlos R. S. Milani and counts upon the participation of Dr. Ruth Mckie (De Montfort University, UK) and assistant researcher Janaina Pinto. As part of the network entitled “The Climate Social Science Network”, Brown University (USA), this project aims to map relevant networks, organizations and leaders in the broad political field of climate denial in Brazil, answering questions such as: what are the main networks? How are they organized? What are their transnational connections? Are there any relationships between religion and climate denial in Brazil? What would be the profile of the scientists who participate in these networks and organizations? The first phase of the study is structured around interviews with agents from the Brazilian environmental field. The second phase, still in preparation, will be oriented towards a direct study with leaders and organizations in the field of climate denial in Brazil.

Beatriz Triani and Luiza Martins are currently participating in this project, coordinated by Danielle Costa da Silva. The database of official speeches by Brazilian authorities, mainly of presidents, began to be built in 2012, and should be constantly updated due to the succession of presidents and years of administration. All speeches of former presidents are available on the website of the Library of the Presidency of the Republic and were downloaded, organized and inserted in the speech bank of this project. This speech bank covers the period of former presidents from Sarney to Michel Temer (1985-2018) and also includes the speeches of the Jair Bolsonaro government from 2019 until May 2022, which were captured on the website of the Presidency of the Republic. Updating is ongoing. This project also aims to integrate speeches by Foreign Relations ministers, as well as speeches in English by leaders from other Southern countries (South Africa, India, Turkey, etc.).