Philosophical literature on climate change explains how to redress climate injustice between generations, but it says little on why we should do so. In this article Furio Cerutti, political philosopher and professor emeritus at the University of Florence, analyses what motivations human beings and state institutions may have for worrying about climate change.
This week's seminar focuses on the lessons learned from BIOCORE, a Marie Curie Intra European Fellowship on biological diversity with particular attention to coral reef. The research conducted highlights the importance of strengthening the marine ecosystem particularly in developing countries, and the need to develop interdisciplinary alliances and partnerships to better shape climate policy.
The First Annual Conference of the Italian Society for Climate Sciences will take place on September 23-24, 2013 at the Castle of Charles V, Lecce, Italy. The conference, entitled Climate change and its implications on ecosystem services and society aims to involve scientists, researchers, policy makers, Italians, and foreigners working in close contact with our country, whose activities closely affect aspects of climate change and their relationships on environmental and socio- economic systems. The call for papers is closing on May 20th 2013.
Human-induced temperature increase is amplified in the Arctic, as well as its effects on the ice cover. With the aid of an Arctic "death spiral”, Prof. Peter Wadhams, oceanographer and glaciologist at Cambridge University, discusses scientific evidence and his personal experience of changes in the Arctic in the last decades.
The Scientific Partners of BIOECON are pleased to announce the Fifteenth Annual International BIOECON conference on the theme of “Conservation and Development: Exploring Conflicts and Challenges”, to be held once again on the premises of Kings College Cambridge, England on 19-20 September 2013. The conference will be of interest to both researchers and policy makers working on issues broadly in the area of biodiversity and land use policy, especially in regard to the management of natural resources in developing countries. The call for papers is closing on May 15th 2013.
The workshop – organised by the International Center for Climate Governance - will open with an overview of the main drivers of change and their impacts in the Arctic marine area. New economic opportunities and the role of emerging stakeholders will subsequently be explored, also considering the international regulatory and governance regime in the Arctic. Finally, the workshop will bring together the above aspects to explore future policy options to address security issues in the region.
The International Center for Climate Governance, within the activities of the Best Climate Practices observatory, invites you to submit innovative proposals - existing practices or brand new ideas - focusing on urban resilience to climate changes. All the eligible practices have to be designed in the period between January 2011 and December 2012.
Smoking, like many health-related behaviors, has "social" aspects. This article by FEEM associate researcher Sergio Currarini, Elena Fumagalli (University of Lausanne) and Fabrizio Panebianco (University of Milan Bicocca) discusses how accounting for the external effects of smoking - second-hand smoke - and concern for the health of relatives and friends can shed light on recent trends in smoking behavior and possibly suggest anti-smoking policies in view of the intrinsic network effects.
Would universal access to modern sources of energy like electricity and clean cooking fuels significantly increase CO2 emissions? This article by Shoibal Chakravarty, Princeton Environmental Institute, and Massimo Tavoni, FEEM and CMCC, briefly describes a methodology for the formal assessment of this issue by means of a model of current and future energy consumption.
Climate geoengineering, i.e. the deliberate reduction of incoming solar radiation, is receiving increased interest as an alternative or complementary climate strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But can it justify a delay in the abatement effort from an economic point of view, even under optimistic assumptions? Read the analysis made by FEEM researchers Johannes Emmerling and Massimo Tavoni in their article in Re3.
Climate change is still not widely recognized as a burning issue. Despite illusions, climate skepticism is not dead yet but only evolving, shaped in different forms, each with different underlying reasons and meanings. Ottmar Edenhofer, co-chair of IPCC Working Group III, identifies five types of climate skepticisms and one possible pathway to tackle them.
Charles F. Mason from the University of Wyoming investigates the dynamics of an increased demand for uranium following an expansion of total nuclear capacity installed. While this demand will be partially satisfied by expanding production from existing deposits, there will undoubtedly be pressure to find and develop new deposits quite rapidly. Looking forward to the potential expansion in demand for uranium, it is important that society be mindful about past mistakes. In particular, Charles F. Mason warns that policies may induce levels of industrial activity failing to fully capture all potential social gains.
