Lecture series in winter 2025:
Building Climate Resilience: Public Health Solutions for a Changing Environment
This series is presented as a collaboration between the Department of Equity, Ethics and Policy and the McGill Centre for Climate Change and Health.
April 3, 2025 - 12-1
Hybrid - 2001 McGill College, 11th floor, room 1140 or via ZOOM
The potential of carbon offsets in agriculture: promoting the adoption of technologies and best management practices
Abstract: Carbon sequestration practices have the dual benefit of replenishing soil organic matter levels while simultaneously mitigating greenhouse gas emissions by capturing and storing carbon in agricultural soils. Despite their potential, these practices are far from being widespread. The first part of the talk will examine how uncertainty and risk play a part in farmer’s decisions to adopt intercropping, a practice shown to enrich soils and absorb carbon. The second part of the talk will examine how carbon offsets might be designed to incorporate agriculture and promote the adoption of practices, like intercropping, that offer producers benefits while helping offset greenhouse gas emissions.
Speaker biography:
Aurélie Harou is an agricultural, development and resource economist. Some of her recent research examines farmer behavior and incentives to reduce groundwater consumption in India, quantifies the effects of cultivating multiple seasons on resiliency, nutrition and food security in Malawi, and estimates the effect of climate change on cooperation among farmers in an irrigation scheme in Tanzania. She has published in leading journals including the American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Journal of Development Economics, Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, among others, and is an associate editor of the American Journal of Agricultural Economics. She partners with local organizations as well international ones, including the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization, the United Nations World Food Program and the World Bank, CIAT, CIMMYT, IMWI. She holds a BSc in Geography and Environmental Science from the University of Sussex, an MS in Agricultural and Resource Economics from the University of California Davis and a PhD in Applied Economics and Management from Cornell University. Before joining the faculty in the Department of Natural Resource Sciences at McGill, she was an Earth Institute post-doctoral fellow at the Agriculture and Food Security Center and the International Research Institute for Climate and Society at Columbia University.
April 29, 2025 - 12-1
Hybrid - 2001 McGill College, 11th floor, room 1140 or via ZOOM
Climate change, extreme heat, and health
Abstract: Climate change has resulted in an increase in the global mean temperature. In recent decades, Canada has seen a rise in the frequency, duration, and intensity of heat waves. In order to provide patient care and health care delivery with broader strategies for mitigating and adapting to rising temperatures, a comprehensive understanding of the wide range of health impacts of extreme heat exposure is crucial. This presentation will summarize the epidemiological evidence on the health risks associated with heat, its disproportionate impact on vulnerable populations, and the protection strategies that can be taken at both the individual and community-level to prevent these risks.
Speaker Biography:
Eric Lavigne is a Research Scientist with Health Canada and an Adjunct Professor in the School of Epidemiology and Public Health at the University of Ottawa. His research interests include the interconnections between air pollution and climate change, particularly in the context of early life exposure and children's health. The research is aimed at being policy-relevant and contributing to well-informed decision-making to improve the protection of human health.
Conference May 12th, 2025 - 8:30 AM to 5 PM
From Extreme Events to Emerging Threats: Translating Climate and Health Research into Actionable Solutions
Where: McGill Faculty Club
3450 Rue McTavish, Montreal Quebec H3A 0E5
This one-day conference will examine how climate and health can be used to frame both challenges and solutions. We will explore the health impacts of both climate change disasters and emerging threats, and engage in discussions with both policy actors and community groups about the latest innovations and technologies being used to mitigate the consequences that climate change has on public health and wellbeing.
For more information or to register
The Policy Talks Webinars were recorded on Zoom and uploaded to our YouTube Channel.