Conflicting temporalities of social and environmental change

This chapter explores how time and temporality – that is, the rhythms and tempos of social and environmental change – have been considered in social theory before going on to explore the conceptual frameworks and practices through which policy-makers seek to influence temporal processes in the specific context of climate change policy. The chapter highlights conflict between the temporalities of climate change and the temporalities of politics, as well as conflict between the temporalities of competing political and decision-making processes. While policy-makers advocate strategies to depoliticize climate policy in response to these conflicts, the chapter argues this is neither possible nor desirable. Instead, it advocates more democratic and deliberative approaches to the challenge of synchronizing ever more visible ecological temporalities with the multiple temporalities of the social.