Prof Jennie Stephens, a leading scholar in climate justice and feminist environmental research, delivered her inaugural lecture at Maynooth University. Titled Climate Justice, Hope and Transformation in a Time of Despair and Disruption, the event marked an important milestone for Prof Stephens, who joined the ICARUS Climate Research Centre and the Faculty of Social Sciences in 2024 as a Professor of Climate Justice.
In her wide-ranging and thought-provoking lecture, Prof Stephens explored how climate justice offers a hopeful, transformative response to today’s overlapping ecological, social, and economic crises. Highlighting the connections between ecological health, human well-being, and systemic inequality, she called for a shift away from the status quo and toward more inclusive, justice-centered climate solutions.
“We are living in a deeply disruptive time, and yet within disruption lies the opportunity for transformation,” Prof Stephens said. “Climate justice is about rethinking the structures and systems that are failing us – from energy systems dominated by fossil fuels to higher education institutions themselves – and imagining alternatives rooted in equity, care, and community.”
Prof Stephens introduced a framework of “Resist, Reclaim, and Restructure” to illustrate how academics, policymakers, and communities can challenge entrenched power dynamics, reclaim the public good, and work to create systemic change. Drawing on her research on climate obstruction and the influence of powerful actors in shaping policy, she outlined how extractive industries continue to delay meaningful action. She also highlighted the importance of feminist and anti-colonial perspectives in confronting these challenges.
As part of her work at MU, Prof Stephens is leading efforts to establish a Futures Institute for Climate and Sustainability, a transdisciplinary initiative aimed at strengthening the University’s leadership in climate action and social justice.
Opening the event, MU President Prof Eeva Leinonen praised inaugural lectures as a “celebration of academic excellence and a platform to share scholarly vision”. She described Prof Stephens as “an exemplary scholar and activist whose work reflects our commitment to research and teaching that imagines and creates better futures for all”.
Introducing Prof Stephens, Vice-President for Research and Innovation Prof Rachel Msetfi highlighted her international reputation and thought leadership: “Jennie brings a wealth of expertise on the intersection of climate, energy, and social justice. Her work highlights both the urgency and the opportunity for meaningful change.”
A dual Irish-US citizen born in Dublin, Prof Stephens joined MU from Northeastern University, Boston, where she was Dean’s Professor of Sustainability Science and Policy and Director of the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs. She has held leadership roles at the University of Vermont, Clark University, and as a Harvard-Radcliffe Climate Justice Fellow, and is a Senior Fellow for Climate Justice at the Global Council for Science and the Environment.
Her latest book, Climate Justice and the University: Shaping a Hopeful Future for All (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2024), has been widely praised, with President Michael D. Higgins describing it as “a compelling case for the profound and necessary reorientation of the higher education sector through a climate justice lens”, and Mary Robinson calling it “powerful and inspiring of the transformative change the world needs”.
Reflecting on her return to Ireland, Prof Stephens remarked, “It is an exciting time to be here at MU, where there is openness to reimagining what our institutions can be in this era of disruption – and to playing a role in transforming them.”
Watch the lecture and learn more about Prof Stephens’ work here.