Global Climate Crisis: Seeking Solutions

The global climate crisis underscores the primary challenge facing the global community today. How to reduce the devastating human impact on the environment is the most vital issue that requires non-partisan, united action based on scientific evidence as well as a clear moral framework. The issue has profound implications for the common good of humanity. The negative impact of humanity on the ecosystem and the planet is clear to see.

A rapidly expanding and growing global population poses major challenges in how to justly balance the finite resources of the planet. Limited availability and inequitable distribution of the planet’s resources significantly impact social relations both within and between nations, increasing the risk of conflict.

This conference brought together leading scholars from a diverse range of disciplines to discuss how we can come together to find solutions for the existential environmental threats facing the planet. By approaching the problem from different perspectives, the speakers addressed key questions surrounding the science, ethics, and implications of climate change.

See report at Bahá'í World News Service:
Pandemic highlights need to address moral dimensions of climate change, scholars warn

Introduction
Prof. Hoda Mahmoudi, Bahá'í Chair for World Peace, University of Maryland

First Do No Harm: Climate Reparations and Guarantees of Non-Repetition
Prof. Maxine Burkett, Professor of Law, University of Hawai'i Manoa

Land's Potential for Limiting Climate Change Richard A. Houghton, Senior Scientist, Woods Hole Research Center, Massachusetts

Indigenous Energy Justice and the Climate Change Crisis
Dr. Kyle Powys Whyte, Timnick Chair and Professor of Philosophy, Michigan State University

People, Peace and the Environment: Engaging communities in environmental decision making
Dr. Melissa Nursey-Bray, Head of Geography, University of Adelaide, Australia

The Role of Science Boundary Organizations in informing regional decision making and policy
Dr. Victoria Keener, Research Fellow and Lead Principal Investigator of the Pacific Regional Integrated Sciences & Assessments (Pacific RISA) program, East-West Center, Honolulu, Hawai'i

Discussion of the futures of water, energy and food nexus in Southeast Asia and anticipatory governance practices
Dr. Rathana Peou Norbert-Munns, Southeast Asia Regional Scenarios Coordinator, CCAFS, Australia

Closing Remarks
Prof. Hoda Mahmoudi