Post-Kyoto environmental discussion to take place at UW-Madison
This December in Bali, new international talks will be launched to determine the successor of the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change. The science has spoken. We know the problem is real, but how do we move forward with a solution?
Join a distinguished panel of UW–Madison faculty to discuss what has been learned about environmental governance and how science and politics frame options in a post-Kyoto world. The "Beyond Kyoto" symposium will take place from 7-8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 14, in 2120 Grainger Hall, 975 University Ave.
Three UW–Madison faculty will share their expertise: Tracey Holloway, assistant professor of environmental studies, atmospheric and oceanic sciences, and civil and environmental engineering; Greg Nemet, assistant professor of public affairs and environmental studies; and Jonathan Patz, associate professor of environmental studies and public health.
"Just as concerns heighten about the instability of the climate, the international community is asking fundamental questions about whether the Kyoto Protocol has successfully set the stage for a more stringent international policy regime or whether it merely provides lessons to learn from a failed experiment," says Nemet. "The meeting in Bali should provide an indication about whether meaningful progress toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the next decade is more likely to take place within the United Nations or will emerge from a more dispersed set of initiatives and agreements."
Recent advances in scientific and political awareness of the connections between climate and health-relevant air pollution will challenge science and politics to shape potential opportunities. "The Kyoto Protocol does not address health-relevant air pollutants, and air quality regulations do not address carbon dioxide," says Holloway. "Could better coordination of these policies yield win-win solutions?"
Presented by the UW–Madison Center for World Affairs and the Global Economy (WAGE), "Beyond Kyoto" is co-sponsored by the Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment (SAGE), Global Studies, the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, the Division of International Studies, the Energy Institute and the La Follette School of Public Affairs.
