Overview
Adaptation and mitigation measures are needed at the level of policies, programs and projects, locally, regionally and globally, because climate change is expected to:
- Affect the productivity of biological resources and ecosystems.
- Alter the emergence and distribution of infectious diseases in plants, animals, and humans.
- Increase the costs of extreme weather for transportation, trade, tourism, and other infrastructure—especially in developing nations.
This Symposium will emphasize, through impact assessment applied knowledge, practical examples and guidelines that are useful for planning, design and operational management associated with climate change impacts. The focus will be on urban areas, energy facilities, water supply and waste water treatment projects, roads and other transport, coastal projects, tourism facilities and other infrastructure likely to be affected by changes in water availability or extreme weather events as a result of climate change. The symposium will also explore the application of environmental impact assessment, strategic environmental assessment and cumulative effects assessment to climate change adaptation and mitigation.
Themes to be developed
- Energy efficiency and clean energy in production and consumption
- Green economy and reduction of industrial emissions
- Urban sustainability and eco-city development
- Climate change and integrated water management
- Social aspects in impact assessment and climate change
- Green governance and regional sustainability
Some key questions
- What effects will climate change have on the feasibility, viability and long-term sustainability of policies, plans and programs?
- Will climate change exacerbate the impacts of a project?
- To what degree does a project, program or policy or intervention promote reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions?
- How can impact assessment assure flexibility in societal response to the impacts of climate change?
- How can climate change projections be applied to site-specific projects in impact assessment?
- What impact assessment tools are appropriate for understanding impacts, assessing risks and responding to climate change?