Topic 1: The Contradictions of Green Capitalism—and Solutions from the Margins of Neoliberalism

This talk outlines some key structural contradictions inherent to the green capitalist project, which make it harder for green capitalists and their government allies to achieve their goals. It argues that East and West, North and South, solutions are coming from the margins of green capitalism—like more assertive states, "social climate protagonists," and innovative firms that embrace these new dynamics.

About the speaker:

Daniel Aldana Cohen is Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Berkeley, where he directs the Socio-Spatial Climate Collaborative, or (SC)2; and he is Founding Co-Director of the Climate and Community Institute. He is co-author of A Planet to Win: Why We Need a Green New Deal. His scholarship on green political economy, especially focused on the US and Brazil, has appeared in Nature; Environmental Politics; Public Culture; Scientific Data; The International Journal of Urban and Regional Research; Environmental Justice; and elsewhere. His public writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, Time, The Nation, and elsewhere.

Topic 2: From orchestrating to choreographing: Developing unconventional pathways toward distant climate goals in the present

This talk explores how organizations develop and implement sustainability strategies, incorporating knowledge from the periphery and coordinating multiple futures toward a circular economy. It discusses specific challenges and opportunities when developing unconventional pathways, encouraging a systemic, participative, and actionable approach to address the triple planetary crisis (climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste).

About the speaker:

Miriam Feuls is an Associate Professor in the Department of Organization and Co-Director of the Centre for Organization and Time at Copenhagen Business School. Miriam’s research draws on insights from organization studies, process studies, and cultural and social studies to advance understanding of practices and processes of organizational change and sustainable transformation. Empirically, she is engaged in the study of time and temporality, creativity and innovation, as well as environmental and social sustainability, which she has explored in the contexts of creative businesses, food production, and life sciences. Her work has been published in the Academy of Management Journal, Organization Studies, Research in the Sociology of Organizations, Work, Employment & Society, among other notable outlets.

📅 Date: Monday, December 15, 2025

🕑 Time: 12:15 pm – 1:15 pm

📍 Venue: Social Sciences Chamber, 11/F., The Jockey Club Tower, Centennial Campus The University of Hong Kong

🗣️ Language: English

🔗 Register here: https://hkuems1.hku.hk/hkuems/ec_hdetail.aspx?guest=Y&ueid=104239