GreenDeal-NET Introduces the RETOOL Project:
Strengthening democratic governance for climate transitions
Out of our existing collaboration within our network, we are thrilled to announce the launch of the RETOOL project, an initiative aimed at advancing our understanding of how to address the twin challenges of responding to the climate imperative along with strengthening and reinvigorating democratic governance. The project is motivated by the current lack of appropriate policy responses to the climate emergency, the systematic level of exclusion of citizens from decision-making processes, and the rise in populism.
At the heart of RETOOL's mission are four key objectives:
- To deepen our understanding of the relationship between democratic governance and the climate imperative by developing a novel analytical framework and creating new empirical underpinnings, including important new open-access datasets;
- To understand how a variety of democratic institutions across Europe are responding to the climate challenge, including learning lessons from history and studying new and innovative democratic practices;
- To contribute to reinvigorating democratic governance in Europe by developing and synthesising new knowledge and insights on climate democracy, and presenting them in a range of high-impact formats;
- To serve as a bridge between academic research on climate democracy innovations and policymakers and practitioners, as well as civil society and the wider public
The RETOOL project brings together nine partners across Europe, showcasing a diverse range of expertise in political science, environmental law, public administration, and more. The RETOOL consortium is coordinated by Dublin City University and includes:
- Brussels School of Governance, Vrije Universiteit Brussel,
- University of Trento,
- Ghent University,
- University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna,
- University of Eastern Finland,
- Holistic, a Greek project management and communications consultancy specialising in energy and environmental policy,
- DD Foundation, an Estonian social change consultancy.
- The London School of Economics and Political Science has applied to participate as an associated partner in RETOOL funded by the UKRI Horizon Europe guarantee fund.