Register for this session
The Port of Antwerp is one of the largest ports in Europe, handling approximately 239 million tonnes of goods and 12 million containers annually. It plays a significant economic role, directly providing jobs for around 62,781 people and indirectly and supporting an additional 142,000 jobs. However, the port faces substantial environmental challenges. While this is a pressing issue at both the national and international levels, it is especially critical for the communities surrounding the port. The port is responsible for emitting around 18 million tonnes of CO2 each year, accounting for nearly 20% of Belgium's total carbon emissions. Furthermore, infrastructure projects in the area involve soil excavation that releases large volumes of drainage water contaminated with PFAS. Public dissent continues to grow, as demonstrated by protests from civil society organizations and NGOs against a closed-door meeting between Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and at least 70 executives from major polluting companies in Antwerp, as well as protests against the positioning of Ringland. This seminar will explore the responsibility of the Port of Antwerp in ensuring the quality of life in its surrounding communities, the steps being taken to mitigate negative externalities, and how similar challenges are being addressed at other ports.
Invited speakers
Francesca Savoldi is a human geographer (PhD) concerned with the intersections of power, politics, space, and place in coastal and maritime areas. Her recent research has delved into the urban geography and political ecology of port cities and coastal territories. As a Marie Skłodowska-Curie postdoctoral fellow at TU Delft (2021-2023), Francesca critically examined the evolving dynamics of the port-city relationship, focusing on contemporary power imbalances, urban and socio-environmental conflicts and resulting social resistance. She is the founder of ContestedPorts.com, an online platform dedicated to mapping social mobilizations in port cities. Previously, Francesca was a research associate at the Jean Monnet Chair in EU Integrated Maritime Policy at the University Nova, Lisbon, where she examined the transformation of maritime spaces, economies, and politics. As of 2024, Francesca is a lecturer at Glasgow Caledonian University, a postdoctoral research fellow at the Department of Economy at Ca’ Foscari University, and a visiting researcher at Erasmus university and TU Delft.
Katrin Van den Troost is a social worker at the climate movement, specialized in the PFAS problem. She works at Climaxi, a social climate movement that demands a social climate policy together with action committees, farmers and unions.
Thomas Goorden is an environmental researcher and civic rights defender. He is most known for breaking open the PFAS scandal surrounding 3M Belgium. His research often focuses on pollution and climate impacts, as well as systemic analysis of the underlying dynamics.
Moderator
Gert Van Hecken is associate professor at the Institute of Development Policy (IOB) and coordinator of the Debating Development series. His research focuses on the politics of knowledge in processes of social change, on critiques of neoliberal natures and ‘green economy’ proposals, on alternative (transformational) paradigms, social movements and processes related to degrowth, as well as on other processes of (re)imagining and (re)enacting alternative social-ecological futures. He teaches various courses on the political economy of social and ecological change, and is involved in several institutional partnerships with knowledge centers in Latin America.