UCL Minds Lunch Hour Lecture: The power of islands

About the lecture

As well as inspiring us with their natural beauty, many islands have a captivating hidden history. In reality, they face various challenges: climate change, waste, plastic in the oceans and a lack of investment are just few of them. Why has it been so hard to make them the 'hottest resource-centred points', 'the golden spots' for sustainability? One of the answers is because these challenges transcend the normal boundaries of our thinking.

Solutions are partly technical, yet involve appropriate policy mixes, business models, governance structure and community engagement. This talk offers an understanding of these problems and delves into some of the most exciting mechanisms in their evolution.

About the speaker

Catalina Spataru – Associate Professor Global Energy and Resources at Energy Institute, UCL

Associate Professor Global Energy and Resources, Founder and Director of UCL Islands Laboratory (islandslaboratory.com).

Catalina is the author of the book 'Transitioning Island Nations Into Sustainable Energy Hubs' (2018), exploring a deep understanding on the current situation of island nations and providing mechanisms in the evolution towards sustainability. She has written more than 90 articles and books on energy and resource nexus, and has been invited regularly as a speaker in academic and professional circles (e.g. Cheltenham Science Festival, European Business Summit Brussels).

Catalina has also organised public engagement events and engaged with the media, (e.g. being interviewed by The Sunday Telegraph).

Image by かねのり 三浦 from Pixabay