The inaugural Ramanathan Climate Conversation on climate resilience in South & East Asia in honor of NAS member V. Ramanathan.
A recording of the webinar is available below.
About This Event
Home to over half of the global population, Asia is vulnerable to impacts from climate change, emits over half of current global greenhouse gas emissions, and plays an important role in developing climate solutions. Mariette DiChristina (Boston University) interviewed Veerabhadran “Ram” Ramanathan (UC San Diego & Cornell University) about how to develop climate resilience in Asia as the climate becomes more dangerous and unpredictable in the coming years. The conversation focused on adaptation, using specific examples from South and East Asia, within a broader framework of climate resilience which also includes mitigation and transformation.
Ramanathan Climate Conversations are annual webinars in honor of National Academy of Sciences member Veerabhadran “Ram” Ramanathan (bio below), and are made possible through generous support provided by Sunanda Basu. Recognizing that climate change is a global challenge that requires global solutions, Ramanathan Climate Conversations focus on climate resilience in South and East Asia, aiming to identify pathways to action relevant to viewers and policymakers around the world. They are part of the Climate Conversations: Pathways to Action monthly webinar series from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, which aims to convene high-level, cross-cutting, nonpartisan conversations about issues relevant to policy action on climate change.
Participant Bios
Veerabhadran “Ram” Ramanathan is Frieman Endowed Presidential Chair in Climate Sustainability (Emeritus), Scripps Institution of Oceanography at University of California San Diego, and Climate Solutions Scholar, Department of Global Development, Cornell University. He is an international leader in global climate studies whose discoveries and advice have helped provide a foundation for understanding and addressing climate change. In the 1970s, he identified the strong greenhouse effect of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and other manmade trace gases. He has spent decades investigating the climate effects of short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) such as methane, soot, tropospheric ozone, and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), and in recent years has worked on reducing emissions of these pollutants to rapidly reduce warming and improve air quality. He has also led field studies that identified the nature and sources for extensive air pollution over South and East Asia. His findings have led to numerous climate solution policies to reduce emissions of SLCPs, including the formation of the Climate and Clean Air Coalition by the United Nations and the ratification of the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol by the U.S. and other nations. He was the science advisor to Pope Francis’ delegation to the Paris climate summit and in this capacity has taken up the issue of climate justice and climate resilience for the poorest three billion, the most vulnerable to climate change. He is the founding chair of the Bending the Curve Climate Solutions education program of the University of California, aimed at training a million climate stewards and leaders in the private sector.
Mariette DiChristina is the dean of the College of Communication at Boston University and a nationally recognized science journalist, most recently as editor-in-chief and executive vice president of Scientific American.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in the conversation are those of the participants and do not necessarily represent the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
