Master Lecture: Communicating Climate Science

Summary:

As the IPCC launches its Sixth Assessment Report, what lessons have been learned and what challenges lie ahead? After a decade heading IPCC’s communications, Mr. Lynn will reflect on how messages and channels have changed over time.

Speakers:

Jonathan Lynn
Olivia Jensen

 

Integrating Resilience into the Financial System – the Global Resilience Index Initiative

Summary:

Aligning financial flows with climate-resilient development is one of the goals of the Paris Agreement. The Global Resilience Index Initiatives brings together global partners with the goal of providing open risk information and standards with the goal of creating a basic, common language of risk that can help accelerate the integration of risk and resilience into financial decision making across both the public and private sector. In this event, we share the ambition and rationale of the GRII, update on progress delivered for COP26 and discuss how we can link to innovations in risk analytics in the Asia region to build toward an operational GRII service by COP27.

Speakers:

Rowan Douglas, Nicola Ranger, Jim Hall,
Ekhosuehi Iyahen, Jenty Kirsch-Wood,
Kamal Kishore, Carlos Sanchez, John Schneider,
Shie-Yui Liong, T-C (Tso-Chien) Pan

 

Rapid Assessment of Comparative Climate Risk in Cities

Summary:

Deltares is developing a methodology to assess the risks for climate-induced natural hazards in cities based on open-source global data in combination with rapid assessment modelling. Resilient Cities Network and Deltares are now conducting this assessment for cities in the Network to map how climate risks are distributed throughout global regions, and to learn how the assessment can be developed further to be most beneficial to cities. Interviews were held with several Chief Resilience Officers (CROs) from a diversity of cities to present and discuss the results. The roundtable of CROs will discuss how the method can be tailored to optimally fit the needs of cities. Links Resilient Cities Nework website: https://resilientcitiesnetwork.org/ Deltares Website: https://www.deltares.nl/en/ Deltares Facebook: @DeltaresNL Deltares LinkedIn/Twitter: @Deltares

Speakers:

Leon Kapetas
Hans Gehrels
Guy van Hemel
Kamlesh Yagnik
Folayinka Dania
Piero Pelizzaro

 

Using Narratives to Communicate Climate Risks

Summary:

Stories engage, inspire and enlighten us. In this session, the panellists will discuss how books, games and films can contribute to climate risk communication, reaching a broad audience from kids to grandparents, connecting people to their communities and the environment.

Speakers:

Matthew Schneider-Mayerson
Pontus Wallin
Zhaoli Song
Reuben Ng

 

Open Mapping to Address Donor-Driven Risks

Summary:

Open Knowledge Kit (OK Kit) is a free and open-source tool kit to empower local communities with digital employment through geospatial data collection, analytics and monitoring toward the stewardship of their economic, climate, and social prosperity. Surveys, disaster and climate change modeling and 3D reconstruction are now possible at much lower costs, training local and non-technical communities. OK Kit Addresses the key barriers to achieving the SDGs: 1. Short-term and uncoordinated donor projects led by community outsiders 2. Expensive, proprietary and closed technology systems 3. The gender gap 4. Decent Work. https://celinaagaton.com

Speakers:

Carolyn Florey
Celina Agaton
Mahar Lagmay
Stephen Mather
Ivan Gayton

 

Urban Heat: Causes and Solutions

Summary:

Asian cities are impacted at an unprecedented speed by climate change and urbanisation. Since the mid-1970s, Singapore has warmed at a rate of 0.25 degrees Celsius per decade, which is higher than the global average rate of 0.17 degree Celsius. Developing nature, design, and engineering-based strategies to tackle urban heat risk at high density urban areas should be at the core of every urban climate resilience plan. Through the session, our expert panellists will discuss the main factors that cause urban heat risk, from global climate change to air conditioners at each household, and highlight the consequences on energy consumption and wellbeing. Our expert panellists will share potential solutions, i.e., climate a digital urban climate twin, user-friendly modelling tools, climate sensitive urban planning, as well as experience in Singapore and other cities and climate zones. Better understandings on urban heat risk will motivate city planners, policymakers and the industry to work together and develop strategies for hazard adaptation in our cities. Join the session and develop crucial capabilities to assess and reduce heat-related risks in the urban context.

Speakers:

Jonas Jörin
Wen Tung Chiu
Chao Yuan
Jan Carmeliet

 

From Space to Community

Summary:

Satellite and distributed data gathering hold enormous potential to improve disaster risk management, leading to leaps in the ability to forecast, respond and recover. However, getting the information into the hands of decision-makers at the community level at the time and in the form they need it is beset with challenges. Drawing on experience with droughts, floods and earthquakes in urban and rural settings, the panellists will discuss the steps that need to be taken to link people and data.

Speakers:

Andrew agaton
Futong Chen
Peeranan Towashiraporn
Jan Jaap Brinkmann

 

Post-COP26 Climate Risk Landscape

Summary:

Regional experts including Melissa Low (Energy Studies Institute, NUS) will give a round-up of the impact of the latest climate summit on the regional risk landscape.

Speakers:

Chan Ghee Koh
Melissa Low
Lutfey Siddiqi
Koh Lian Pin

 

Is it Really Risky? Why Experts and the Public Disagree about Risks

Summary:

The public and experts are sometimes closely aligned in terms of what they consider to be a high risk. But there are also many cases of divergence, cases when experts and the public seem to disagree about what is risky. Sometimes it is experts who consider the public to be underestimating risks and behaving irresponsibly – of eating a high-fat diet, or not completing a prescribed course of medicine, for example – but in other cases, it is the public that is more worried about risks – of getting children vaccinated, or living near to a hazardous waste disposal site – leaving them frustrated that experts do not appear to be taking their concerns seriously. When these gaps go unresolved, people fail to take protective actions which would benefit them or, conversely, experience needless anxiety, and distrust builds up. This session focuses in on these Risk Perception Gaps, identifying domains and types of risks where the gaps are most profound, considering what drives them and possible approaches to bringing experts and publics closer together. We will hear from researchers at leading academic institutions in China, Korea and Singapore and invite the audience to contribute to the debate in their roles of both experts and members of the public.

Speakers:
Olivia Jensen, Peng Zongchao,
Kalenzi Cornelius, Leonard Lee,
Kim So Young

 

Master Lecture: Risk Telling or Risk Listening?

Summary:

If we look at COVID-19 or climate change, we see lots of good scientific/analytical/expert evidence presented to the policy community yet policy responses are often somewhat dilatory or dismissive. There are many reasons for this – part is the societal response and a lot about climate change and indeed COVID-19 is about distrust of experts and elites, part is about the narrative being distant in time and space. But if we look at the policy response we need to look at both cognitive biases and political biases. The issue is the presentation of risk in a way that it will be heard, made more complex by the cacophony of different narratives fueled by misinformation. Lessons from science advice and from narratology may inform how best we inform risk listening and take action.

Speakers:
Lesley Cordero
Peter Gluckman