Researcher Details |

Darren Clarke

Contact Details

Assistant Professor
St. Patrick's Campus
Dublin City University
Drumcondra
D09 DY00
T:Ext. 9124

E:darren.p.clarke@dcu.ie

Darren Clarke is an Environmental Geographer whose research spans topics including Global Environmental Change, Climate Change, Environmental Policy and Governance, Adaptation, Social Vulnerability and Environmental Psychology. He has experience in teaching both physical and human geography modules at undergraduate and postgraduate levels and is the current Chair of the BA in Climate & Environmental Sustainability programme.

His research focuses on the dynamics of adaptation as a social and governance issue and how transformation of vulnerable communities can be facilitated in adapting to external shocks, with a particular emphasis on understanding climate change/environmental change and its impacts on social behaviour and actions. His research to-date has focused on transformative change, which is recognised by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) as a crucial strategy if societies are to respond to climate change in a sustainable and equitable manner.

His interests are therefore at the forefront of global environmental change discussions. Moreover, given the diversity of fields which his research addresses, it is inherently interdisciplinary in nature.

Peer Reviewed Journal

	Year	Publication
	2023	Clarke, D; Murphy, C. (2023) 'Incremental adaptation when transformation fails: The importance of place-based values and trust in governance in avoiding maladaptation'. Journal of Environmental Psychology, . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2023.102037
	2019	Thaler, T., Attems, M.S., Bonnefond, M., Clarke, D., Gatien-Tournat, A., Gralepois, M., Fournier, M., Murphy, C., Rauter, M., Papathoma-Köhle, M. and Servain, S. (2019) 'Drivers and barriers of adaptation initiatives: How societal transformation affects natural hazard management and risk mitigation in Europe'. Science of the Total Environment, (650):1073-1082.
	2018	Clarke, D., Murphy, C. and Lorenzoni, I. (2018) 'Place attachment, disruption and transformative adaptation'. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 55 :81-89.
	2014	Robinson, D., Boyle, G., Feighan, J., Soraghan, C., Dominguez-Villoria, L., Clarke, D., Rigby, J., Lindau, S. and Kenny, R.A. (2014) 'Mapping health services to meet the needs of an ageing community: The Local Asset Mapping Project (LAMP)'. Irish Journal of Medical Science, :S300-S301.

Other Journal

	Year	Publication
	2023	Burke, J.; Clarke, D.; O'Keeffe, J.; Meehan, T. (2023) 'The Impact of Blue and Green Spaces on Wellbeing: A Review of Reviews through a Positive Psychology Lens' Journal of Happiness and Health, 3 (2) :93-108. [Link] https://doi.org/10.47602/johah.v3i2.48
	2016	Clarke, D., Murphy, C. and Lorenzoni, (2016) 'Barriers to transformative adaptation: Responses to flood risk in Ireland' .

Published Report

	Year	Publication
	2022	Clarke, D. (2022) Local Government Climate Action Key Performance Indicators – in an Irish Context. Local Government Management Agency, . [Link]
	2022	O'Keeffe, J.; Clarke, D.; Burke, J.; Meehan, T. (2022) Evaluating intangible assets, services, and their associated benefits in the Group Water Scheme sector. National Federation of Group Water Schemes, . [Link]
	2021	Clarke, D. (2021) Local Government Climate Action Key Performance Indicators Literature Review. Local Government Management Agency, . [Link]
	2020	Clarke, D. and O’Donoghue-Hynes, B. (2020) A Profile of Local Government Climate Actions in Ireland. Dublin: Local Government Management Agency. .

Book Chapter

	Year	Publication
	2024	Burke, J.; Clarke, D. (2024) 'Greening the Mind: The Power of Integrating Positive and Environmental Education for Improving Well-Being' In: Handbook of Positive School Psychology. Advances in Mental Health and Addiction. Berlin : Springer. [Link] https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-54295-4_10

Reports

	Year	Publication
	2020	Clarke, D. (2020) Local authorities to lead in change. Local Authority Times, 23(1), 16-18. REPORT
	2019	Clarke, D. and Murphy, C. (2019) (2019) Challenges of Transformative Climate Change Adaptation: Insights from Flood Risk Management. Wexford: Environmental Protection Agency. REPORT
	2019	Clarke, D. (2019) The climate challenge: Local government climate change research due for publication. Local Authority Times, 22(364), 10-11. REPORT
	2016	Clarke, D. and Murphy, C. (2016) Societal transformation and adaptation necessary to manage dynamics in flood hazard and risk mitigation. Work package 2 deliverable: Ireland Country Report. Wexford: Environmental Protection Agency, p.1-84. REPORT
	2015	Gatien-Tournat, A., Gralepois, M., Bonnefond, M., Fournier, M., Servain-Courant, S., Clarke, D., Driessen, P., Fuchs, S., Hegger, D., Mees, H., Murphy, C. and Thaler, T. (2015) Societal transformation and adaptation necessary to manage dynamics in flood hazard and risk mitigation. Work package 1 deliverable: Framework for evaluation. JPI Climate, p.1-140. REPORT

Committees

	Committee	Function	From / To
	National Council for Curriculum and Assessment	Irish Universities Association representative for Leaving Certificate Climate Action & Sustainable Development subject development	01/09/2022 - 30/08/2024

Enterprise Engagement

Year	Engagement Type	Client	Description
2022	Consultancy	Local Government	Updated review of climate action Key Performance Indicators for the Irish local government sector
2022	Consultancy	National Federation of Group Water Schemes	Research evaluating intangible assets, services, and their associated benefits in the Group Water Scheme sector
2021	Consultancy	Local Government Management Agency	Development of climate action Key Performance Indicators for the Irish local government sector

Media

Title	Year	Type	Authors
Ireland AM: Climate change and international negotiations	2022	Television interview/panel discussion	Virgin Media Ireland AM
As Coastal Flood Risk Rises, the Council Seeks to Defend Property and Residents to Defend Their Landscape – and Nothing’s Been Built	2022	Newspaper article (online)	Kapila, L.
The subtle danger climate change poses to ‘highly vulnerable’ Ireland	2022	Newspaper article (online)	Deaton, J.
Why our current thinking around climate action is obsolete	2021	Newspaper article (online)	Clarke, D.
Irish temperature records will be broken in the coming years because we're in a climate crisis	2021	Newspaper article (online)	Clarke, D.
Living on the edge	2021	Newspaper article (online)	Costello, S.

Research Interests

Climate change policy and governance

Climate adaptation

Environmental psychology

Transformative change

Flood risk management

Climate change and society

Transport sustainability

Research Projects

	Title	Role	Description	Start date	End date
	Evaluating intangible assets, services, and their associated benefits in the Group Water Scheme sector	Co-investigator		01/03/2022	01/06/2022
	Addressing the Political-Economic Barriers to Climate Adaptation in Ireland	DCU Co-PI		01/01/2023	31/12/2023

Current Postgraduate Students

	Student Name	Degree	Supervision
	Chikwaza ,David	PhD-track	Supervisor
	Emoit ,Peter	PhD-track	Supervisor

Teaching Interests

Global Environmental Change

Climate Change

Sustainability

Environmental Policy and Governance

Transformative Change

Environmental Psychology

Geographical fieldwork

Modules Coordinated

Term	Title	Subject
2023-24	Climate Change: The Physical Science Basis	GY502
2023-24	Challenge-based Learning for Transformative Change	GY342
2023-24	Sustainable Food Security	GY242
2023-24	Introduction to Sustainability	GY111