Free Symposium: Lessons from a Pandemic: Solutions for Addressing the Climate Change Crisis

Seventh Annual Trottier Symposium on Sustainable Engineering, Energy and Design will focus on how we can apply the lessons learned from Covid-19 to Climate Change. Free online event with speakers: Naomi Oreskes, Ph.D., and Michael E. Mann, Ph.D

The current COVID-19 pandemic has been referred to by some as the “time-lapse of the climate crisis” and has highlighted the importance of heeding the warnings of scientists and experts to make informed policy decisions in order to stave off the most dire consequences. Much like the novel virus, climate change affects the global population, and though there has been significant progress towards technological solutions in areas of manufacturing, infrastructure and renewable energy to mitigate its effects, progress on implementation has been sporadic and fragmented. In the context of the current situation, the 7th Annual Trottier Symposium on Sustainable Engineering, Energy and Design will focus on laying a road map to addressing the climate change crisis while considering the following questions:

• Are there lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and society’s response, which can be applied to accelerating action on the climate emergency?
• What are the most promising, important, equitable, and viable solutions to climate change and which are most likely to face opposition from the public and/or special interest groups?
• How can scientists and engineers communicate their work to policymakers to help accelerate the implementation of technological and operational solutions that support future sustainable development?

Speakers:

Naomi Oreskes, PhD.: Professor of the History of Science, Affiliated Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University

Michael E. Mann, PhD.: Distinguished Professor of Atmospheric Science, Director of the Earth System Science Center, Penn State University