CLIMATE CHANGE STUDY GROUP
Announcement of new DSA
Study Group on Climate Change and Development
The purpose of the
study group is to bring together academics, policy makers and
practitioners working on climate change and development, to encourage
sharing of information and debate on pressing issues. Collective
engagement from academics and practitioners is urgently needed to
explore the relationship between development and climate change and to
help find sustainable and equitable responses in mitigation and
adaptation.
At the Development
Studies Association conference climate change session in 2007 the
participants identified the need for an arena to focus specifically on
these issues, hence this initiative. The focus of the study group
will be on development issues and the research/practice interface,
especially pro-poor initiatives, equity, social justice and
vulnerability, and how these relate to climate change, climate policy
initiatives, the wider economy and the world's environmental, social and
political systems.
Possible topics of
interest for the group already identified include:
.
Development pathways, economic growth and aims for low carbon economies;
.
Relationships between adaptation and 'good' development practice;
.
Mitigation and adaptation strategy linkages; lessons, experience and
tools in both;
.
Conflict, migration, human security and climate change;
.
Inter-relationships between multiple stressors on livelihoods,
.
Sectoral climate change impacts (e.g. agriculture, industry,
environment, urban areas);
.
Risk reduction, disaster management, climate change and development;
.
Gender dimensions of climate impacts;
.
Community-Based Adaptation (CBA) & mitigation. Project design and
effectiveness in Africa, Latin America and
.
Adaptation financing mechanisms: opportunities, risks, equity and
justice at different scales including REDD (Reduce Emissions from
Deforestation and Degradation);
.
Carbon markets and impact for developing countries;
.
International agreement processes:
.
Strategies for change: Communication, behavioural and organizational
change;
.
Energy and development issues - renewables, biofuels, implications of
GHG reduction.
The study group is
being co-convened by Valerie Nelson of the Natural Resources Insitute,
Invitation and call
for mini-presentations
A meeting will be held
on the 6th of May 2008 (10:30 am til 3 pm) to provide an opportunity for
members to meet, to outline and discuss their research in this area and
to identify further activities the group would like to undertake.
These might include focused topic seminars and summaries, e-mail
discussions, 'open space' meetings where critical issues of the moment
can be debated and other formats.
There will be time for
participants to outline their research interests, but the convenors are
also requesting proposals for more in-depth papers on hot topics.
Please send these to Valerie Nelson.
Follow-up seminars are
planned for Sept 08 and January 09 on specific topics and calls will be
issued for papers.
Convenors
Valerie Nelson, Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich, valairn@ntlworld.com
Natasha Grist, Tyndall Centre, University of East Anglia n.grist@uea.ac.uk