199. The Paradox of Crisis: Interrogating Emergency and Crisis Framing in Climate Infrastructures
Hema Vaishnavi Ale, Transitions Research; Vikrom Mathur;
The concept of crisis is pervasive, often used as a naturalizing category that subsumes specificity. The imaginary of a perpetual crisis has colonized policymaking and responses to the climate crisis worldwide, becoming foundational to knowledge production. This panel aims to critically examine the emergency and crisis framing of climate infrastructures, which range from large-scale schemes to mitigate future climate disasters to systems designed for forecasting and predicting such catastrophes.
The panel welcomes social science scholars to explore research gaps, including:
How can the infrastructural dynamics that undergird emergency framing of climate infrastructures be critically examined to better understand their impact on climate governance?
What are the implications of the intersection between neglect and care for marginalized communities in the emergence of climate crisis impacts?
What is the role of "rapidity" in shaping climate governance, and how can we better understand its impact on social, political, and economic norms and values?
What underlying structures produce and reproduce perpetual crises, and how can they be addressed to create a more sustainable future for all?
How do emergency and crisis framing spell unforeseen implications for climate action and adaptation, hindering effective action on the ground?
These questions aim to shed light on the complexity of the climate crisis and highlight the need for critical examination of practices of representation associated with the concept of crisis.
