Join Rutgers University on Friday, April 10, 2015 for the Symposium "Global Climate Change And Inequality: Local To Global Perspectives" at the Rutgers College Avenue Student Center. This event is free and open to the public.
The Issue
Addressing global climate change and related socio-environmental disasters is among the most urgent challenges of the 21st century. A changing climate will affect all life on the planet, but the effects will not be shared equally. Some regions, nations, communities, individuals and natural ecosystems will likely experience greater or lesser levels of threat, and will have greater or lesser vulnerabilities. As one noted scholar has written: “[G]lobal warming is all about inequality, both who will suffer most of its effects and in who created the problem in the first place” (Roberts 2001). While we understand fairly well who is responsible for climate change (although its solutions are not), the more difficult and frankly demanding questions surround those who will suffer the most and how best to mitigate such threats and address the vulnerabilities of those most at risk.
This symposium will explore across disciplines the state-of-the-art thinking and research on the problem of inequality linked to expected global climate change and related environmental disasters that occur in different locations and cultures. Since some groups, communities, and nations will be much more vulnerable than others to a changing climate, a fundamental task ahead for scientists and others rests on better understanding who is likely to be affected by a changing climate and related disasters, in what ways they will be most vulnerable, and how might those vulnerabilities be addressed through various social actions, including policies and planning. Also relevant are the social consequences of mitigation policies and other efforts to reduce climate change. If communities and nations are to remain vibrant and resilient, conscious and concerted efforts will be needed to make sure everyone is valued and no one is left behind.
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