Symposium Kickoff - Welcome!

Speakers: Symposium Organizing Team

Panel 1: Food

Moderators: Pamela Thompson (AAAS S&TP Fellow) and Julian Reyes (AAAS S&TP Fellow)

Panelists:

• Mónica Ramírez-Andreotta, The University of Arizona

• Ricardo J. Salvador, Union of Concerned Scientists

• David Inouye, University of Maryland

• Venus Welch-White, USDA - Rural Development

• Julia Bradley-Cook, USAID

Panel overview: Increasing temperatures, drought, disease and pest infestation are impacting farmers, farm communities, and the food supply around the world. The agricultural industry is disproportionately impacted by climate change compared to other sectors, thus it is crucial to ensure that the agricultural community has a voice in shaping adaptation strategies. In addition to food production, human food consumption practices have an enormous impact on climate change scenarios, calling to attention the need for society to adopt climate-smart and sustainable agricultural systems.This panel will take a deep dive into key issues faced by the agricultural community and discuss potential approaches for adaptation.

Panel 2: Education & Labor

Moderator: Ashley Pierce (AAAS S&TP Fellow)

Panelists:

• Megan Bang, School of Education & Social Policy, Northwestern University, and Spencer Foundation

• Sara Espinoza, National Environmental Education Foundation

• Ugbaad Kosar, Carbon180

• Dennis Dougherty, Colorado AFL-CIO

Panel Overview: Climate mitigation and adaptation will require transitioning from a fossil fuel-based economy to one that is sustainable and socially responsible, which has profound implications for traditional blue-collar jobs. Firefighters and first responders are under increasing strain due to extreme weather events and increasing wildfires; these events devastate communities resulting in the loss of livelihoods. Drastic transitions away from single-industry based economies can have devastating effects which need to be addressed; on the other side of the coin, low-income communities and communities of color are disproportionately affected by harmful emissions. The future is promising: today in the United States, there are more jobs in renewable energy and energy efficiency but it is unclear if there are enough skilled workers to support the rapid needed growth in these fields. This panel will address how to create jobs while also addressing and reducing emissions. Education will both be essential in climate-related transitions and impacted by them: how and what is taught through formal and informal learning mechanisms and who is able to access this education will be important questions to address. This panel will explore the different climate stories that emerge between big and small businesses, labor sectors, formal and informal learning mechanisms, and different generations.

Panel 3: Water

Moderator: Kathryn Jackson (AAAS S&TP Fellow)

Panelists:

• Mae Stevens, Signal Group

• Dennis Cakert, National Hydropower Association

• Dave Steindorf, American Whitewater

Panel overview: Freshwater availability is expected to become increasingly scarce in the near future due to climate change, but this scarcity will not be uniformly felt across the planet. Instead select communities, for example in Africa, southeast US, Central America, and small island countries, will suffer the most. An expected 1-billion people in dry regions will lose their water security and be forced to migrate to other regions. Increased carbon dioxide emissions also increase ocean acidification, which in turn affects ocean-based life.

Panel 4: Finance

Moderators: Raleigh Martin (American Geosciences Institute / AAAS S&TP Fellow) and Lyla Fadali (AAAS S&TP Fellow)

Panelists:

• Madeline Salzman, U.S. Department of Energy

• Edward V. Etzkorn, House Budget Committee

• Marion Mollegen McFadden, Enterprise Community Partners

• Danny Richter, Government Affairs, Citizens' Climate Lobby

Panel Overview: Those most vulnerable to the effects of climate change often have the fewest resources to adapt. Climate-affected communities face increased insurance premiums, reduced tax revenues, and dwindling access to capital. Federal programs can help struggling communities, but formulas for distributing disaster mitigation and recovery aid often devalue the needs of the poorest communities. This panel will explore these various financial aspects of the climate crisis, focusing on how insurance markets, federal aid, and fiscal policy can be coordinated to ensure that climate adaptation and mitigation policies equitably benefit all socioeconomic groups.

Panel 5: Health

Moderator: Crystal Upperman (Aclima)

Panelists:

• Jacqueline Patterson, NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Program

• Sharon Roerty, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

• Sacoby Wilson, University of Maryland-College Park

• John Balbus, National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences

Panel Overview: Climate change is threatening human health and lives by influencing the spread of infectious diseases, increasing the frequency and intensity of natural disasters (e.g., hurricanes, wildfires, heat waves), and exacerbating pollution. Recent reports by the American Public Health Association and the Lancet have emphasized the connection between climate change and increased health risks, which will most likely impact low-income and minority populations disproportionately. This panel will discuss how climate change exacerbates inequalities in human health outcomes, particularly in front-line communities. The equity implications will be discussed across two dimensions: 1) how climate mitigation efforts will improve or exacerbate inequalities in pollution burdens of vulnerable populations, and 2) how climate adaptation efforts can address the increased health risks of vulnerable populations due to climate change.

Panel 6: Energy

Moderator: Hannah Rabinowitz (AAAS S&TP Fellow)

Panelists:

• Khalil Shahyd, Natural Resources Defense Council

• Elaine Ulrich, US Department of Energy

• Curtis Wynn, Roanoke Electric Cooperative in North Carolina

Panel Overview: Extreme weather events due to climate change (e.g. hurricanes, wildfires, etc.) and the resulting power outages are becoming an increasing concern for communities across the country. For example, Hurricane Sandy directly caused power outages by damaging grid infrastructure in New York in 2012; and in 2019, outages were imposed preemptively to mitigate wildfire hazard by utilities in California during the wildfire season.

These extreme events are likely to increase in frequency and magnitude as the Earth continues to warm. It is therefore necessary to take steps to both improve the resiliency of our energy infrastructure and mitigate future warming and its effects by reducing carbon emissions from the energy sector. However, the transition to renewable energy will be costly, and certain subsets of the population will have more or less ability to transition to cleaner sources of electricity and energy (e.g. installation of solar panels on homes or purchasing of electric cars). Similarly, the cost of resilience measures can be prohibitive, leading to uneven adoption across the country. As steps are taken towards energy resilience and implementing renewable energy in the face of climate threats, it is essential to ensure equitable access to energy resources. This panel will explore the opportunities and challenges that energy transitions hold and provide insight into the state of this transition throughout the country.