ECMN26 conference

#ECMN26

Welcome

Welcome to the main webpage of the fourth annual Environmental and Climate Mobilities Network conference. Here, you will find all relevant information about this year’s conference, taking place between 23 and 26 June in Wageningen (the Netherlands). Currently, we are accepting proposals for papers and innovative sessions (e.g. workshops). Please find all the relevant information and submission entry below.

Abstract submission has now closed. We aim to inform authors of the outcome in early March 2026.

The fourth annual Environmental and Climate Mobilities Network (ECMN) conference will build on the successes of the first three editions by gathering researchers and other professionals from all disciplines, continents, and career stages to examine the nexus of environment, climate and mobilities.

ECMN is a transdisciplinary network connecting people working on migration and human (im)mobility in the context of environmental and climate change. In the face of advancing environmental and climate changes we observe a significant interest in the question on how the environment and human (im)mobility are interrelated. This quesion is increasingly discussed in the scientific, political, and public debates.  However, there remains a pressing need for a dedicated platform to foster transdisciplinary exchange, to debate research insights, and to explore ways forward.

For ECMN 2026, we invite abstracts for papers, as well as proposals for workshops and (networking) events, within the following set of themes:

Politics. A primary theme of this year’s ECMN conference is politics. What is the political nature of policy, media discourse or everyday practice for climate mobilities (winners, losers, intersectionality incl. gender, dominant approaches); what are the wider implications of climate change for borders, state sovereignty, trade, or other modes of governance (e.g. when considering shifting borders, concerns of uninhabitability or loss of marine territories); and what are the links between climate mobilities and geopolitcs in a broader sense (e.g. security interests in the Pacific or Greenland or climate coloniality) or other levels of planetary politics, considering for instance non-human relations.

Inter- and transdisciplinary collaborations and methodologies. ECMN has as a principal aim to foster inter- and transdisciplinary research. Being hosted by the interdisciplinary Wageningen University, this will be a central theme of ECMN 2026. We invite abstracts or session proposals that seek to further the dialogue (via methods, concepts, critiques) amongst different sciences, and that set out ways to advance collaborations with policymakers, climate impacted communities or other stakeholders, such as through storyline methodologies or through ways to indigenise or decolonise climate mobilities studies.  Moreover, we are interested to learn about the implications of new methods, such as AI or nonhuman-centered methods, in light of both climate mobilities science and (geo)politics.

Land- and waterscapes. We invite proposals that examine or conceptualise climate (im)mobilities within or across different land- and/or waterscapes, to explicitly consider the ecology, sociology, infrastructures and politics that it involves. This means we very much look forward to receiving proposals that also speak to literatures on land politics (incl. tenure, food adaptation, relocation) as well as marine, riverine and other aquatic contexts, or even critically discuss links between human mobility and outerspace.

Time. At the closing plenary of ECMN 2025, Koko Warner left listeners with the message: we have to recognise the amazing work this group and others are doing, but also that we are very quickly running out of time. For researchers and practitioners in this field, this invokes questions: How can we address climate mobilities with both urgency and care? With both conviction and nuance? How can we draw attention to the injustices of disruptions and (potential) climate-mobility disasters coming our way, but also recognise that climatic and environmental change are already woven into our mundane, everyday (im)mobilities?

Submission

• Submit your abstract (max. 200 words) or session proposal (max. 300 words) by 20 January 2026 midnight (CET).
• In the submission, please confirm that you intend to join in person. Possibilities for hybrid presenting will be limited.
• The organizers are currently seeking funding for a limited number of grants for early career participants from the Global South, covering fees and/or travel/accommodation. Please indicate your requirement for a grant when submitting your abstract, and specify what you would need.

Registration fees
Regular fee (includes refreshments & lunch with vegetarian and vegan options): €200
Under/graduate and doctoral students pay €100 (includes refreshments & lunch with vegetarian and vegan options)
Online participation: €50 (limited to keynote sessions and a selected number of online panels)

Venue
Omnia, Wageningen University, The Netherlands

Other details
Starting time: 15:00 CET 23 June 2026
Ending Time:  14:00 CET 26 June 2026

For other questions, please contact us at ECMN2026@wur.nl.

Support

This conference is supported by:

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