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 a geographer whose research interests include climate adaptation, environmental policy and governance, and human wellbeing.

His research explores how communities can better adapt to challenges like climate change whilst protecting their health and wellbeing. He is also interested in the governance of climate adaptation. His work emphasises the need for transformative change, a key strategy highlighted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for addressing climate change in a fair and sustainable way.

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
	2025	Brawley-Chesworth, Alice; Clarke, Darren; Marks, Danny (2025) Addressing the Political–Economic Barriers to Climate Adaptation in Ireland. Environmental Protection Agency, .
	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

Book

	Year	Publication
	2024	Jolanta Burke; Darren Clarke; Jimmy O'Keeffe (2024) Positive Psychology and Biodiversity Conservation Health, Wellbeing, and Pro-Environmental Action. London: Routledge. [Link] https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003452676

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

Outreach Activities

	Year	Engagement Type	Organisation	Description
	2024	Advisory Work	National Council for Curriculum and Assessment	Leaving Certificate Climate Action & Sustainable Development Working Group

Research Interests

Climate change policy and governance

Climate adaptation

Health and wellbeing

Transformative change

Research Projects

Title	Role	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
Irish Local Government Climate Action Key Performance Indicators Project	DCU PI	01/04/2021	14/05/2021
Local Authority Climate Action KPI Literature Review Update 2022	DCU PI	01/06/2022	30/09/2022
Farming Resilience and Management through Natural Capital	Co-investigator	03/03/2025	28/02/2027

Current Postgraduate Students

	Student Name	Degree	Supervision
	Chikwaza ,David	PhD-track	Supervisor
	Fox ,Erica	PhD	Supervisor

Teaching Interests

Global Environmental Change

Climate Change

Sustainability

Environmental Policy and Governance

Transformative Change

Environmental Psychology

Geographical fieldwork

Modules Coordinated

Term	Title	Subject
2024-25	Climate change: The physical science basis	GEO1007
2024-25	Introduction to sustainability	GEO1000
2024-25	Sustainable food security	GEO1005