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Patricia Elaine Perkins

Patricia Elaine Perkins

Professor

Credentials

PhD Economics, University of Toronto
MA Economics, University of Toronto
BA Public and International Affairs, Princeton University

Research Keywords

Climate Justice; Commons Governance; Participatory Watershed Management; Feminist Ecological Economics; Community Economic Development.

Patricia Elaine Perkins

Contact Information

esperk@yorku.ca

Research Interests

I am an ecological economist concerned with climate justice:  addressing global inequities while advancing the energy transition.  I am interested in the political ecology of commons governance, local economies, and energy transitions; feminist theory and practice in times of climate change; and mining / metals in the green transition. I teach courses in Climate Justice, Climate Mitigation, Ecological Economics,  Community Economic Development, and interdisciplinary qualitative research methods. I often work with students pursuing research themes related to climate justice, local economic development, trade and the environment, water management, and feminist ecological economics. I was a Lead Author for the 6th Assessment Report of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, chapter on "Demand, Services, and Social Aspects of Mitigation" (published in 2022).  

Research Projects

2022 New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRFR-2022-00521), Special Call 2022 - Post-Pandemic Recovery, $500,000 over two years, “Pandemic lessons for rapid adaptive community-based crisis response: metrics, institutions, networks, models, and systemic synergies in the Northwest Toronto community known as Jane and Finch.”  I am Co-PI, with Professor Jude Kong as NPI, Cherryl Prescod and Uzo Anucha as Co-Applicants.

2021 New Frontiers in Research Fund, Exploration (NFRFE-2021-00879), “Novel Approaches to Sustainability, Governance, Climate Resilience, and Equity: supporting recovery and renewal in a post-pandemic world,” $250,000 over two years, funded April 17, 2022. I am a Collaborator, with Jude Kong as NPI, Kesha Fevrier, Sylvia Bawa and Mary Goitam as Co-Applicants, and Mduduzi Mbada, Wilson Cabral de Sousa Junior, Bruce Mellado and Jianhong Wei as Collaborators.     

2019 Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, Research Data Management Capacity Building Initiative Communications grant, $91,076 ($50,000 from SSHRC), “Ethical, accessible research data management for the Jane Finch community,” October 2019 – October 2020.

2019 York University Joint Sabbatical Leave Fellowship grant, $13,050, for sabbatical project, “Synthesis of Work on Global Climate Justice, Commons Governance and Ecological Economics,” July 2019 - June 2020.

2018 International Development Research Centre Rapid Response Initiative grant, $360,000, "The Role of Social, Cultural and Environmental Factors in Improving Ebola Virus Disease Response and Resilience: Exploring the Potential of Community Based Initiatives" – Co-applicant with Harris Ali and Mosoka Fallah (PIs), Roger Keil, Michaela Hynie, Pablo Idahosa, Barlu Dumbuya and others.

2017 Queen Elizabeth Scholars II Diamond Advanced Scholars Program grant, $783,142, “Ecological Economics, Commons Governance, and Climate Justice,” funded by International Development Research Centre and SSHRC through Universities Canada, The Rideau Hall Foundation, and the Community Foundations of Canada.

2014 Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, Partnership Grant, $2,500,000,  “Economics for the Anthropocene,” co-applicant with Peter Brown (PI, McGill University), Jon Erickson (University of Vermont), and others.

Research Output

2023 Climate Justice and Participatory Research: Building Climate-Resilient Commons (edited, peer-reviewed monograph).  University of Calgary Press (open access).

2020 Local Activism for Global Climate Justice: The Great Lakes Watershed.  London / New York: Routledge (edited monograph).

2013 Water and Climate Change in Africa:  Challenges and Community Initiatives in Durban, Maputo and Nairobi.  London/New York: Routledge/Earthscan (edited monograph).

Articles in Refereed Journals

Forthcoming “Quality of governance, effective climate change mitigation, and just outcomes: a virtuous cycle” by Felix Creutzig, A. Ramakrishnan, F. Götzke, M. Andrijevic, and P. Perkins.  Global Environmental Change, 2023

2022 “Mineração, desastres, formação crítica: casos no Brasil e no Canadá,” by Daniela Campolina Vieira, Lussandra Gianasi, Bernardo Jefferson de Oliveira, Judith Marshall, and Patricia Perkins. Revista, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais.   https://periodicos.ufmg.br/index.php/revistadaufmg/article/view/21466/28886

2021 “Demand-side solutions to climate change mitigation consistent with high levels of wellbeing,” by Felix Creutzig, Leila Niamir, Xuemei Bai, Max Callaghan, Jonathan Cullen, Julio Diaz-José, Maria Figueroa, Arnulf Grübler, William Lamb, Adrian Leip, Eric Masanet, Erika Mata, Linus Mattauch, Jan C. Minx, Sebastian Mirasgedis, Yacob Mulugetta, Sudarmanto Budi Nugroho, Minal Pathak, Patricia Perkins, Joyashree Roy, Stephane de la Rue du Can, Yamina Saheb, Shreya Some, Linda Steg, Julia Steinberger, and Diana Urge-Vorsatz.  Nature Climate Change, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-021-01219-y

2021 “Multiple knowledge systems and participatory actions in slow-onset effects of climate change: insights and perspectives in Latin American and the Caribbean,” by Allan Yu Iwama, Francisco Araos Leiva, Jeremy Anbleyth-Evans, Francisco Ther Rios, Victor Marchezini, Gonzalo Bacigalupe, Rachel Trajber, Patricia Perkins, and Arturo Ruiz Luna. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, special issue on slow onset events, climate change impacts, and loss and damage.   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2021.01.010  https://www.researchgate.net/publication/349734206_Multiple_knowledge_systems_and_participatory_actions_in_slow-onset_effects_of_climate_change_insights_and_perspectives_in_Latin_America_and_the_Caribbean202

2021 “Exploring plural values of ecosystem services: local peoples’ perceptions and implications for protected area management in the Atlantic forest of Brazil,” by Marcondes G. Coelho-Junior, A.L. de Oliveira, E.D. da Silva-Neto, T.C. Castor-Neto, A.A. de O. Tavares, V.M. Basso, A.P.D. Turetta, Patricia E. Perkins and A.G. de Carvalho, Sustainability 13(3), 1019; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13031019

2020 “Movements shaping climate futures: A systematic mapping of protests against fossil fuel and low-carbon energy projects” by Temper, Leah; Avila, Sofia; Del Bene, Daniela; Gobby, Jennifer; Kosoy, Nicolas; Le Billon, Philippe; Martinez-Alier, Joan; Perkins, Patricia; Roy, Brototi; Scheidel, Arnim; Walter, Mariana.  Environmental Research Letters  15, 123004   doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abc197.

2020 “Brazil’s policies threaten Quilombola communities and their lands amid the COVID-19 pandemic,” by Marcondes Coelho-Junior, Allan Yu Iwama, Francisco Araos, Katia Carolino, Daniela Campolina, Patricia Perkins, et al.  Ecosystems and People 20(1), pp. 384-386.   https://doi.org/10.1080/26395916.2020.1845804

2019 “De tragédia a solução: A atualidade teórica e empírica dos recursos comuns no Brasil,” with Ivette Luna and Mateus César, Nova Economía.

2019 “Climate justice, commons, and degrowth,” Ecological Economics, vol. 160, pp. 183-190.  https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921800918303021

2018 “Re-establishing justice as a pillar of ecological economics through feminist perspectives,” co-authored with Phoebe Spencer and Jon Erickson, Ecological Economics, vol. 152, pp. 191-198. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921800917310467

Book Chapters

2022 “Education for Regeneration,” in The Future of Sustainability Education at North American Universities, edited by Naomi Krogman and Apryl Bergstrom, University of Alberta Press. Open access:  https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/96954

Forthcoming “Extreme climate events and climate change policies: a call for climate justice action in Mozambique” by José Maria Langa, Natacha Bruna, Boaventura Monjane, Giverage do Amaral, Elton Augusto da Amélia Fé, Bento Paulo Rafael, Patricia Walker, and Patricia E. Perkins.  In  Climate Justice in the Majority World, edited by Neil Crawford and Michael Mikulewicz (Routledge), forthcoming 2022.

2022 “Social equity is the foundation of degrowth” with Samantha Mailhot (first author), in Degrowth and Strategy, edited by Livia Regen, Christina Plank, Verena Wolf, Merle Schulken, Maximian Hollweg, Nathan Barlow, Noémie Cadiou, and Ekaterina Chertkovskaya. MayFly Books, open access: https://mayflybooks.org/degrowth-strategy/

2021 “Bringing women’s livelihood and care perspectives into climate decision-making,” in Gender, Climate Change and Livelihoods: Vulnerabilities and Adaptations,” edited by Joshua Eastin and Kendra Dupuy, CABI Press.  Chapter co-authored with Balikisu Osman.

2021 “Commoning and climate justice,” in Making commons dynamic: Understanding change through commonisation and decommonisation, edited by Prateep Nayak, (Routledge Studies in Environment, Culture, and Society Series).    https://www.routledge.com/Making-Commons-Dynamic-Understanding-Change-Through-Commonisation-and-Decommonisation/Nayak/p/book/9780367138004

2019 “Climate justice, gender, and intersectionality,” in Tahseen Jafry (ed.), Routledge Handbook of Climate Justice (London / New York:  Routledge / Earthscan), pp. 349-358.

2019 “Ecofeminism, commons, and climate justice,” in Climate Chaos: Ecofeminism and the Land Question, edited by Ana Isla (Toronto: Inanna).

2017 “Gender Justice and Climate Justice:  Building women’s political agency through global partnerships,” in Susan Buckingham and Virginie Le Masson (eds.), Understanding Climate Change Through Gender Relations (Routledge, 2017), pp. 45-63.

2017 “Gender, Climate Justice, Indigenous Leadership and Political Agency in Canada,” in Marjorie Griffin Cohen (ed.), Climate Change and Gender in Rich Countries: Work, Public Policy and Action  (London/New York: Routledge), pp. 282-296.

2017 “University-community collaboration for climate justice education and organizing: partnerships in Canada, Brazil, and Africa,” in Adenrele Awontola (ed.), Planning for Community-based Disaster Resilience Worldwide: Learning from Case Studies in Six Continents (London/New York: Routledge), ch. 23 .

2016 “Building resilience and networks across the Global South and North:  Community based research initiatives at York University, Canada” (with Kelly Sharp), in Rajesh Tandon, Budd Hall, Walter Lepore and Wafa Singh (eds.), Knowledge and Engagement: Building Capacity for the Next Generation of Community based Researchers, pp. 245-252.  Victoria, BC: UNESCO / University of Victoria / PRIA.

2016 “The Social and Political Dimensions of the Ebola Response: Global Inequality, Climate Change, and Infectious Disease", co-authored with Harris Ali, Barlu Dumbuya, Roger Keil, Michaela Hynie, and Pablo Idahosa, in Leal Filho, W., Azeiteiro, U.M., and Alves, F. (Eds), Climate Change and Health: improving resilience and reducing risks, volume produced as part of the "Climate Change Management Series" published by Springer.

2015 “Strengthening resilience by thinking of knowledge as a nutrient connecting the local person to global thinking:  the case of social technology / tecnologia social,”  by Dawn Bazely, Patricia E. Perkins, Miriam Duailibi and Nicole Klenk, in Planetary Praxis and Pedagogy: Transdisciplinary Approaches to Environmental Sustainability, edited by Richard Mitchell and Shannon Moore (Rotterdam/Boston/Taipei: Sense Publishers), pp. 119-132.

2015 “Building Commons Governance for a Greener Economy,” in Planetary Praxis and Pedagogy: Transdisciplinary Approaches to Environmental Sustainability, edited by Richard Mitchell and Shannon Moore (Rotterdam/Boston/Taipei: Sense Publishers), pp. 133-145.

2015 “Women and water management in times of climate change:  participatory and inclusive processes,” co-authored with Patricia Figueiredo, reprinted in Gender and the Environment, edited by Susan Buckingham (Routledge), vol. 4, pp. 

2015 “Women, watershed governance, and climate change,” co-authored with Patricia Figueiredo Walker, in A Political Ecology of Women, Water and Global Environmental Change, edited by Stephanie Buechler and Anne-Marie Hansen (Routledge).

Articles in Non-Refereed Journals

2019 Co-editor and reviewer, Women and Environments International, special issue on “Celebrating economies of change: brave visions for inclusive futures,” vol. 100/101, September.

2019 “Talking with Economists about Barriers to a Just Transition in Canada,” co-authored with Jen Gobby and others, Briarpatch, May/June.

2015 Co-Editor and Introduction co-author, special issue of Women and Environments International on “Women and Work in a Warming World,” vol. 94/95, Fall 2014 / Winter 2015.

2015 “Gender Justice and Climate Justice: Building women's economic and political agency in times of climate change.”  Women and Environments International magazine, vol. 94/95, Fall 2014 / Winter 2015.

Media Presentations

2023 Interviewed by Kate Allen for article in Toronto Star, “Why Sunwing’s green-focus ads raise hackles,” April 8.

2023 Video presentation, “Participatory research addressing water and climate challenges: seven global examples.” York University World Water Day Art & Science Exhibition, March 20.

2023 Interviewed by Inayat Singh, CBC, about the release of the IPCC AR6 Synthesis Report, March 17.

2022 “Understanding climate justice focus of EUC field course,” YFile, April 21. https://yfile.news.yorku.ca/2022/04/21/understanding-climate-justice-focus-of-euc-field-course/

2022 Interviews following April 4 release of IPCC 6th Assessment Report, Working Group III report: Globe&Mail, https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-emissions-cuts-key-to-enabling-climate-rescue-says-new-ipcc-report/ ; CBC (8 radio interviews); Global News; CTV (2 interviews); CP24; Yfile, https://yfile.news.yorku.ca/2022/04/05/global-warning-greenhouse-gases-must-be-cut-to-limit-climate-change/ .

2022 Podcast interview with Victor Martinez, Kwantlen Polytechnic Institute, on feminist ecological economics, January 14.

2021 York Media Relations article, “Shifting consumer behavior could drastically reduce emissions,” November 25. https://news.yorku.ca/tag/faculty-of-environmental-and-urban-change/

2021 City News 680, taped interview with Mitchell Martin on emissions reduction via consumption choices and new Nature Climate Change article, November 25.

2021 CBC Radio short interviews on consumption and climate change, November 18. Ottawa, Windsor, Newfoundland, Yellowknife, Winnipeg, Calgary, Sudbury, Prince George.

2021 Interviewed for Master’s thesis research on Intersectionality in Climate Change Politics, Lisa Bosotti, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany.   September 14.

2020 Interviewed for Rethinking Economics Rotterdam video on feminist economics and climate change, 20 August.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXlDsBOLKz4&feature=emb_rel_end

2020 Interviewed about ecological economics and climate justice for Earth Rangers podcast The Big Melt, February 21. Episode 6. 

2019 Moderator, plenary panel on “Caring for the Commons,” Canadian Society for Ecological Economics conference, University of Waterloo, May 22-25. https://davidsuzuki.org/science-learning-centre-article/engaging-economies-of-change-canadian-society-for-ecological-economics-12th-biennial-conference-may-22-25-2019/

2018 Introductory remarks, Symposium in honour of Peter Victor, June 11. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1oMH3o-6baO_aitGQ85WGmLDSQte01oYV?usp=sharing

Recognition & Awards

  • REDI (Respect, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion) training certificate – Centre for Human Rights, Equity, and Inclusion, York University

Courses

Course CodeTitle
ENVS 3400Climate Change Science and Policy
ENVS 6127Community Organizing and Development
ENVS 6183Qualitative Research Methods and Interdisciplinary Research Design in Environmental Studies
ENVS 4350Climate Justice Field Course (Summer 2023)