Also in Paris, Brian Davis, assistant professor of landscape architecture, will address the Water, Megacities and Global Change conference, a concurrent meeting.
“COP21 is critical. The world is on a trajectory to warm to a dangerously high 1.5 degrees Celsius within 15 years and to 2 degrees Celsius within 35 years, unless we take urgent action now to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” said Howarth, who will focus on methane’s role in global warming.
Howarth will speak to international unions, as well as to Friends of the Earth Europe; Food and Water Watch; and 350.org.
“The scientific community of the world is united on these points, and the world’s religious leaders – including the Pope and the Dalai Lama – have given this message their full moral authority. Now is the time to act. Paris is the place where this must happen,” Howarth said.
Pinkus will also attend workshops and meet with other humanities scholars at Paris West University Nanterre La Défense. Pinkus will reflect on the conference for several publications, as she is especially interested in geoengineering.
“I know this may sound strange coming from a literature professor,” she said. “Given that the shift to renewables will not happen fast enough, I believe we may be headed toward some combination of solar radiation management and carbon dioxide removal. If we are going to further geoengineer the planet, we need philosophical reflection and critical thought to guide the technological aspects of our work.”
On Dec. 3, Cornell, along with the United Nations Development Programme, the French Institute of Research for Development, and the International Food Policy Research Institute, will host an official side event for world leaders, on “Climate Change, Agroecology, Nutrition and Food Security,” at which Lehmann will deliver a talk, “Food Security Interventions for Mitigating Climate Change in Sub-Saharan Africa.” Chatrchyan will moderate the panel.
Additionally, Chatrchyan and Lehmann will be available at the Cornell exhibit in the main United Nations conference area, showcasing the university’s breadth of research and outreach capacity on climate change and agriculture around the world.
On Dec. 1, Davis will present his research on water management in Brazil, in which his students – along with students from the University of São Paulo – have been developing environmental models and maps, river design and public space projects to study alternative scenarios for water detention structures in the city.