LOTS of climate events to choose from this week! Email braner@bwog.com if you want your event to be featured!

Climate week events:

ClimateShot: The agricultural innovation race to save our planet

• Monday, September 20, 2021 9:00 AM – 10:15 AM
• Online event, link here
• This is a make-or-break year to secure meaningful commitments in addressing the climate crisis and putting our food systems on a sustainable path before it’s too late…and we need YOU to transform our food systems and save our planet. A key part of such a transformation will be a step change in agricultural innovation to support ambitious action. But how can stakeholders across the food system join forces to ensure agricultural innovation contributes to climate mitigation, adaptation and resilience? Join us to debate the emerging ‘Action Agenda for Innovation’ that’s going to be launched at the UN COP26 climate summit in Glasgow this November.

Andrew Revkin in Conversation with Kate Raworth and Roman Krznaric

• Monday, September 20, 2021 1:30 PM – 2:30 PM
• Online event, link here
• What decisions can we make today as individuals and societies to create a better tomorrow? Join Andrew Revkin of the Columbia Climate School, economist Kate Raworth, and philosopher Roman Krznaric for a conversation on how reinventing economics and incorporating long-term thinking into our current policies and practices can help us meet the challenges of climate breakdown and global inequality and transform our world for future generations.

Imagine 2200: Climate fiction for future ancestors

• Monday, September 20, 2021 2:00 PM – 3:15 PM
• Online event, link here
• Fix, Grist’s solutions lab, invites you to join a conversation about decolonizing and diversifying climate storytelling, as explored in its inaugural climate-fiction contest, Imagine 2200. Authors and Imagine 2200 judges Adrienne Maree Brown, Morgan Jerkins, Kiese Laymon, and Sheree Renée Thomas will join Fix’s Tory Stephens and Columbia University’s Brian Kahn to discuss how to build deeply intersectional worlds, systems, and solutions, and create visions for a planet grounded in justice and abundance. This event is presented in partnership with Columbia Climate School’s MA in Climate and Society, Orion Magazine and with support from NRDC.

Global Alliance of Universities on Climate: The Role of Universities in Solving Our Climate Crisis

• Tuesday, September 21, 2021 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM
• Online event, link here
• As leaders in education, research, & knowledge creation, universities are in a unique position to leverage expertise and make significant advancements in the fight against the climate crisis. The event will discuss the critical role of universities in addressing the climate crisis from both the faculty & student perspectives. What are universities currently doing well & what more can they do to prepare the next generation of climate leaders & deliver evidence-based climate solutions? This event brings together students & faculty from Columbia University, Yale University & Tsinghua University to discuss this important question & implications for the future.

Growing Equitable Food Systems for a Changing Climate

• Wednesday, September 22, 2021 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM
• Online event, link here
• Food systems must be transformed to be more equitable and sustainable. Countries have invested trillions of dollars to prop up food systems that are unsustainable for farmers and for the planet. For example, a coffee farmer receives about $0.07 on average for a $2.80 cup of coffee (Specialty Coffee Association), and 23% of global GHGs are attributed to agriculture and land use (IPCC). We see opportunities to create food systems that support food sovereignty, facilitate adaptive and climate-friendly farming methods, and fit within local ecosystems, economies, and communities. However, transformation will require rethinking governance and the investment of financial, human, and technological resources in food systems. Join research experts, engaged students, and leaders from the private sector and civil society for a thought-provoking session focused on enabling transformation in food systems. Participants in this event will learn about key successes and critiques of the UN Food Systems Summit and explore real-world examples of cross-sector partnerships that transform food and energy systems to work better for all people and the planet.

Code Red: Vulnerability to Extreme Heat, Floods, and Displacement

• Wednesday, September 22, 2021 2:00 PM – 3:15 PM
• Online event, link here
• Climate change is here already, but impacting different regions and groups differently. Mapping humanity’s present and future vulnerability to extreme heat, flooding, displacement, and other changes is vital to effective adaptation and greater resilience. In his statement on the recent findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), UN Secretary-General António Guterres declared a “Code Red for Humanity,” highlighting that climate change is already affecting every world region and putting billions at immediate risk from evolving climate hazards. Extreme heat, flooding, and other climate impacts affect everyone, but many are especially vulnerable due to their livelihoods, location, poverty, and other factors. Climate change is expected to increase migration between countries, and displacement within countries, in the coming decades. Better data and understanding of patterns of vulnerability, and the ability to forecast impacts, are critical to efforts to adapt to a changing climate, increase societal resilience, and strengthen environmental justice, leaving no one behind.

Reducing Climate Threats to Food Systems: Highlights from the First Columbia World Project

• Friday, September 24, 2021 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
• Online event, link here
• This event showcases the strategy and successes of the first Columbia World Project––Adapting Agriculture to Climate Today, for Tomorrow (ACToday)––which is led by the Climate School’s International Research Institute for Climate and Society. ACToday has worked to combat hunger by increasing climate knowledge in six countries particularly dependent on agriculture and vulnerable to the effects of climate variability and change: Bangladesh, Colombia, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Senegal and Vietnam.

Other science events:

Double Pandemic: Contending with COVID19 & the Impact of Racism

• Monday, September 20, 2021 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM
• Earl Hall, 2980 Broadway, New York, NY 10027, Schiff Room
• Event link here
• The global COVID-19 pandemic has deeply impacted our lives. Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities have had to simultaneously navigate the ongoing harms and risks of systemic racism alongside the broader health pandemic. On May 25, 2020, George Floyd’s murder sparked a global call for systemic change to address the pervasiveness and persistance of racism. We have also seen a resurgence in anti-Asian bias and violence, prompting communities to raise their voices for change. All students are welcomed to join a moment of reflection on September 20th at 6:30PM ET; we will share what it means to contend with both COVID-19’s impact alongside the ongoing fight for racial justice. Facilitated by Melissa Mayard, Associate Director for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in University Life. 

September 2021 COVID Information Commons Webinar

• Wednesday, September 22, 2021 2:30 PM – 4:00 PM
• Online event, link here
• Meet the scientists seeking new insights on COVID-19. Every month, we bring together a group of researchers studying wide-ranging aspects of the current pandemic, to share their research and answer questions from our community. Learn more about their ongoing efforts in the fight against COVID-19, including opportunities for collaboration.

Image via Shane Maughn/Bwog Illustrations