The Strategic Research Council (SRC) under the Research Council of Finland granted a total of 27 million euros in funding to ten project consortia related to research on just green transition. One of the funded projects is the REBOUND project, led by Tanja Joona, University Researcher at the Arctic Centre, University of Lapland.

REBOUND (Reconceptualizing Boundaries Together Towards
Resilient and Just Arctic Future(s) is the first project coordinated by the
University of Lapland to receive the competed SRC funding. The duration of the
project is 3+3 years i.e. the second funding period will be applied separately. The
first three-year period of funding for the REBOUND project consortium will amount to
approximately €2.7 million and the second period will be up to twice the amount of
the first funding period.

According to Tanja Joona, the
project aims to address the social and economic challenges stemming from climate
change, biodiversity loss, and relate land use changes. 

– We argue that understanding the concept of “justice” from the perspective of
different stakeholders is crucial for the success of a just green transition. This
entails examining how risks, benefits, and harms are distributed and taking into
account in the planning and decision-making. 

REBOUND project consortium will be led by University Researcher
Tanja Joona from the Arctic Centre at the University of Lapland. Photo: Santeri
Happonen

The project is built upon
interdisciplinary collaboration, the premise that co-development methods can better
address the challenges posed by climate and environmental change, thereby promoting
socioecological resilience, the ability to adapt to changes.

A key objective of REBOUND is also to establish a new interface organization
between different disciplines, organizations and stakeholders. This new approach
will enable knowledge and collaboration to flow naturally between different groups
and help solve complex problems.

The research focus is on
the Northern Finland, where local-level conflicts are already evident due to changes
in energy policy and land use, driven by national climate objectives and altered
geopolitical circumstances. REBOUND’s novel participatory approach can guide a way
towards just and resilient futures. 

The project
consortium involves the University of Lapland, Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE),
Natural Resource Institute Finland (Luke) and the University of Helsinki.

From the University of Lapland in the Faculty of Art and Design
responsible professor is Jonna Häkkilä, and in the
Faculty of Education responsible professor is Pigga
Keskitalo. Ari Laakso from the Arctic
Centre will act as the project’s outreach and communications officer.

For more information:

Consortium PI:
Tanja Joona, University of Lapland, tanja.joona(at)ulapland.fi
Faculty
of Art and Design: jonna.hakkila(at)ulapland.fi
Faculty of Education:
pigga.keskitalo(at)ulapland.fi
Responsible for interaction activities:
Ari Laakso, ari.laakso(at)ulapland.fi

List
of funding decisions: JUST ENERGY
List of funding decisions: JUST
TRANSITION