FIU State Of The World Conference Discussion on Climate Change

Elise Gregg / Staff Writer

FIU hosted the State of the World Conference last week and the last panel discussed climate change, the U.S.’s return to the Paris Agreement, and what the world needs to do in addressing environmental issues we face today. 

Titled “Climate Change: Back to Paris – Now What?” the discussion was moderated by Michael Grunwald, senior staff writer for Politico magazine,  and speakers which included FIU professors Simone Athayde and Kevin Grove of the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), Dean Michael Heithaus of FIU’s College of Art, Science, and Education (CASE), and Alex Dehgan, professor of the School of Sustainability of the Arizona State University. 

The discussion began with a simple question: Now what? 

“We’ve already got a new president who’s brought the United States back into the Paris Agreement,” Grunwald said. “There’s really a broad consensus around the world…that [climate change] is at least an issue that’s got to be dealt with, that this is a moment to deal with it.”

All speakers agreed that now, our response to climate change is not the responsibility of a single nation, consumer, or solution.

“We have the single most important window of opportunity to tackle climate change and the pandemic together…but only addressing these things nationally is not enough,” said Athayde, who teaches environmental anthropology at FIU.

People, the private sector, and governments worldwide need to work together to tackle issues of climate change and conservation. However, more can be done to address this global crisis according to the panelists.

“I think for us to actually be successful, we need to fundamentally rethink the majority of our solutions,” said Dehgan. 

According to Deghan, solutions lie both in innovation and consideration for our economy. 

“We need to think about how we are replacing and transforming technologies, products, supply chains, and sectors,” said Deghan. 

Grove, a professor of geography, commented on the political and social side of the issue, saying now is an ideal time to determine how to reconstruct policies and existing institutions that address environmental issues.

“We’re going to see the support [from the Biden administration] that’s [going to] come in and dovetail with already existing actions that are already going on as folks in the private sector…in community organizations, in their everyday lives are already sort of coping with and trying to deal with climate change,” said Grove.

Dean of CASE Heithaus added the government needs to take a broad view of issues such as global warming and carbon emissions, keeping the goal of preserving everything from the economy to the environment in mind. 

“The environment and economy are not two separate issues,” Heithaus said. “The economy is a subset of the broader environmental issue, conservation fits into that [and] I think, if we don’t put it all together, we’re gonna run into challenges.” 

In terms of what the government can do to quickly prompt change, Dehgan used the improvement of air conditioning as one example. 

“The number one solution we could use for drawing C02 out of the atmosphere for climate change is actually cooling technology, so refrigeration and air conditioning,” said Dehgan. “And the challenge that we have…is 70% of the world’s air conditioners are made by two companies. They’re not the resellers…[and] they have zero incentive to actually advance the individual technology.”

According to Dehgan, even the best air conditioners on the market are only 10% as effective as the technology allows. With this being the case, many places (such as India) will have to double their grid infrastructure to deal with climate change and the lag in cooling technology. 

Dehgan is working with the Rocky Mountain Institute and the Indian government to run tests of more efficient air conditioners in India, saying that even scaling the technology up worldwide would be equal to eliminating carbon emissions from Australia and Finland. 

“We can do that without Paris…there’s a lot of things we can do around innovation and technology,” he said. “Part of what it takes is for the Indian government to serve through a regulatory change as an advanced market commitment, that then requires a change…for the rest of the world, that just helps us get there.” 

Grunwald directed the conversation to our oceans, where Heithaus spoke about the problems such as ocean acidification that have arisen in that ecosystem, and the solutions the ocean may provide.

Currently, ocean acidification has increased with carbon emissions, and much of the heat from global warming is trapped in the ocean. However, the ocean may provide many natural solutions to other environmental problems.

“Seagrass beds, mangrove forests, coastal marshes, that can get a lot of carbon out of the air or store it and…we need to protect their top predator population,” Heithaus said, explaining that protecting sea vegetation  is key to reducing carbon emissions, and predators regulate the amount of herbivores that consume these plants.

Grunwald asked Athayde to explain the future of carbon emissions in deforestation, and especially the protection of places like the Amazon rainforest.

According to Athayde, the Amazon is important in stabilizing the climate and the economy, as well as in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

However, the area is seriously threatened by deforestation, forest fires, and water degradation. 

“We’re not just focusing on emissions, we should really focus on protecting biodiversity as well, which is all connected,” said Athayde.

However, politics in Brazil have changed over the years, and according to Athayde, the current Brazilian government may not respond well to foreign concern or input on the Amazon. 

“[Brazil’s] sovereignty is non negotiable,” Athayde said. “We have strong policies, but there is a problem in the enforcement, [and] we have privatization of the climate in Amazon funds, which is a real problem.” 

Athayde added the vast majority of Brazilian citizens are concerned about climate change though, and the civil society needs to be empowered to have a clear understanding of the issues at hand. 

Grunwald turned the discussion over to Grove to discuss the real-life implications of climate change, and what governments can actually do about it. 

“A lot of the ways that we approach climate change are through these international treaties, as we look at national level metrics…but when you look at what is actually going on on the ground, people are dealing with all these different kinds of issues,” Grove said. 

Grove said that with “on the ground problems”, such as flooding in Miami or wildfires in Australia, it’s important to use all levels of government, as well as outside resources. 

According to Grove, success in fighting climate change depends on involving everyone in conversations about climate change, as well as in working to fight it. 

“[Miami] participated in the Rockefeller Foundation’s 100 million Cities program recently about a year and a half ago,” said Grove. “One of the interesting things that came out through that was the way that these resilience planning procedures involve a lot of people from public groups and civil society groups who hadn’t been involved in the conversation before.” 

Grove said that like Brazil, Miami has a history of excluding different minority groups from important environmental decisions. 

“This is also overlaid, on top of a long history of segregation, a long history of racial violence, …a lot of exclusion of racially marginalized as well as other marginalized groups from having any kind of serious implication in local government decision making,” Grove said. 

Grove said climate change decisions affect everyone, so they need to be centered around making opportunities to create and preserve habitable living spaces for everyone. 

Athayde added while the national government of Brazil has its issues, local work against climate change is a good example of the cooperation Grove discussed.

“[Brazil has] seen in the past decades an empowerment of indigenous peoples and indigenous organizations taking control over their territories,” Athayde said. “[Their plans are] implemented through their own ways of social organization…so in connection with the local governments and municipalities…we have a successful story.”

Although the Brazilian government and indigenous organizations don’t always agree, Athayde said the overall results have been positive.

“One aspect that some…management plans include conservation articles that have been done by indigenous peoples in which any project or action or policy that will threaten the integrity of their territories…or traditions would have to go through this consultation process, which is done according to their own…own political organization,” said Athayde.

While everyone has a part to play in fighting environmental challenges, there are many things that individuals can do: from using eco-friendly transportation, to eating sustainably sourced foods, to staying informed about environmental problems and solutions. 

“There’s a lot we can do…there’s ways to make a difference…there’s a lot of tools out there for consumers to figure out if the choices they are making are having a lower ecological footprint overall…it starts in people’s homes,” Heithaus said.