Karsten Schulz

Karsten Schulz is an Assistant Professor in Governance & Innovation at the University of Groningen's Campus Fryslân, and serves as Programme Director for the MSc in Cultural Geography. He is a Fellow of the Earth System Governance Project and the Young Academy Groningen. His research focuses on digital innovations for sustainability transformations, particularly blockchain technology's role in climate finance and governance. He explores themes like climate adaptation's political dimensions, decolonial theory in political ecology, and institutional pathways for transformative adaptation. His work bridges interdisciplinary concepts from political science, environmental governance, and socio-technical transitions.

• Affiliations: University of Groningen, Campus Fryslân, Earth System Governance Project, Young Academy Groningen
• Research Interests: Blockchain technology, climate finance, decolonial political ecology, sustainability governance, institutional theory, and socio-technical transitions.

Key contributions include analyzing blockchain applications in climate finance, critiquing depoliticized adaptation frameworks, and advocating for transformative approaches to sustainability. His publications span climate policy, institutional pathways, and decolonizing environmental narratives. He emphasizes participatory research methods to address complex environmental challenges.

Recent work explores the governance of SDGs via blockchain and the mytho-politics of human mastery in the Anthropocene. He co-authored books on Ghana's climate adaptation policies and links between land, soil, and global climate governance.