In this episode, we speak with anthropologist Cody Skahan about carbon capture and storage (CCS) in Iceland and the Nordic region. Drawing on fieldwork with environmental activists, scientists, and local communities, Cody explores how climate technologies like CCS are reshaping landscapes, economies, and political relationships. From geothermal power plants and volcanic rock formations to contested infrastructure projects and local resistance, the conversation unpacks the tension between Iceland’s global image as an environmental leader and the realities of industrial development and climate governance. What happens when carbon becomes something to manage, move, and store—and who gets to decide?
Cody Skahan is a DPhil researcher in anthropology at the University of Oxford. His research examines the emergence of carbon capture and storage (CCS) and other climate technologies across Iceland and the Nordic region. Building on earlier work on environmental activism in Iceland, his current project explores how climate interventions move from experimental ideas into large-scale infrastructures, and how they reshape relationships between societies, environments, and systems of governance.
Link to Cody’s Linkedin profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cody-skahan/
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