Georgetown SFS-Q Gathers Leads Climate Change Lectures
Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar (SFS-Q) is hosting a series of Climate Change lectures from 11th November to 2nd December to help inform the community and to foster discussions around the crucial topic of climate change. These public lectures held at Georgetown’s Education City campus, bring together thought leaders on this hot topic and provide the community in Qatar, the opportunity to engage with experts and become empowered and informed members of an active society.
Dr. Robert Wirsing, professor at SFS-Q will moderate the lecture series and commented, “SFS-Q is extremely proud to be hosting such a distinguished lecture series on climate change. We want to give people in Qatar the chance to get involved and also become better acquainted with the issues that are really so important to all of us. Qatar is making remarkable progress in making environmental challenges a top priority toward human development, and hosting COP18 is a clear statement of this. These lectures will explain the complexities of the discussions central to COP18 and help put them into context by demonstrating the real relevance of climate change for all of us. Now is the time for us to take care of the world we live in – and Qatar should lead this.”
The SFS-Q Climate Change Lecture Series begins on 11th November at 7pm with session entitled, ‘The Debate over Climate Change’ by Dr. Kai-Henrik Barth, Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs at SFS-Q. Dr. Barth will set the tone for the series, by informing the community about what is truly at stake and how might we be impacted by it. He will present the issues and share the facts and realities on the ground.
Dr. Barth will address the following core questions in the climate change debate: Is climate change real? If so, are humans causing it? How much is our climate going to change, and how fast? How certain or uncertain is our knowledge of climate change? What should we do?
Dr. Barth notes that, “a large majority of climate scientists agree that humans are mostly responsible for the warming, yet parts of the public remain unconvinced. In my presentation I will address how politics entered this presumably scientific debate.”
On November 13th Dr. Mari Luomi, Research Associate, SFS-Q delves into progress with a lecture entitled, ‘From Kyoto to COP18’; on November 14th Dr. Robert W. Corell, director at the Center for Energy & Climate Solutions of the Global Environment Technology Foundation,and chairperson of the Global Climate Action Initiative, lectures on ‘Global Warming & The Oceans’, taking an in-depth look at the issues surrounding the melting of the ice caps, sea level rise and Acidification; on November 18th Dr. Brahma Chellaney Professor for Strategic Studies, Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi and Author, Water: Asia’s New Battleground, will host the lecture ‘Global Warming & The Land: Are We Heading For Water Wars In Himalayan Asia?”; while Nathan Hultman hosts the closing lecture on December 2nd ‘Climate Change: Carbon Taxes, Cap & Trade Renewables, Sequestration & Other Remedies’.
SFS-Q expects high attendance for the series and in keeping with the theme urges the public to carpool to Education City’s Ceremonial Court parking lot and take the shuttle bus to the Georgetown building.