Trial lecture
“The promises and pitfalls of sustainability transitions studies to inform policy on e-waste management”
Time and place: January 23, 2024 10:15 AM, Kristen Nygaards sal (5370), Ole-Johan Dahls hus
Main research findings
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This Ph.D. thesis focuses on possible avenues for transitions toward more sustainable e-waste management systems in different countries of the Global South. Based on a transition management approach, the work captures various perspectives of key stakeholders in Ghana, Brazil, and China. These are among the most impacted countries in their respective continents, thus representing significant locations for empirical research. The investigations focus on current practices within the informal and formal sectors and, where applicable, the impact of policies implemented at a national level. The work contributes to the sustainability transitions research field by combining various perspectives of critical agents in the studied e-waste management systems. For the first time, a work combines such empirical studies in these three significant countries. The findings suggest that transitions toward more sustainable practices require advancing policies while incorporating critical agents in the systems at all scales, from local to global. The work highlights the need to integrate the informal sector into the initial stages of e-waste management and strengthen capacities within the formal sector for end-processing. Moreover, it shows that accounting for the diversity of service provision is of utmost importance to direct sustainability transitions in the Global South.
Adjudication committee:
- Lecturer Yvonne Ryan-Fogarty, University of Limerick, Ireland
- Senior Research Scientist Markus Steen, SINTEF Digital, Trondheim, Norway
- Professor Eric Monteiro, University of Oslo, Department of Informatics, Norway
Supervisors
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Professor Margunn Aanestad, University of Oslo, Department of Informatics, Norway
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Associate Professor Xianlai Zeng, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, China
Chair of defence:
Associate Professor Ellen Munthe-Kaas
Candidate contact information:
Contact information at Department: Mozhdeh Sheibani Harat