Interdisciplinary conference focuses on development and climate change

Conflicts between development and climate change will bring together researchers and practitioners in both areas for an all-day conference at UC Santa Cruz on Saturday, October 27.

"Rethinking Development in Light of Climate Change," will take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Oakes College on the UCSC campus.

Industrialization over the past 200 years has been critical for economic growth in developing countries but now there is increasing concern over its adverse environmental impacts. Municipal officials and academics from a variety of disciplines will address issues of how to improve rural and impoverished societies while not exacerbating climate change.

A morning panel chaired by Adam Millard-Ball, UCSC assistant professor of environmental studies, will address "Localized Urban Development: Learning from Experience." Also participating will be Ross Clark, the city of Santa Cruz's climate action coordinator, and Lacey Raak, UCSC's climate action manager.

Millard-Ball is a former transportation planner whose research looks at transportation, energy, and climate change policy. His current work examines the effectiveness of local climate planning efforts and the design of carbon trading programs,

Morning and afternoon keynote addresses are scheduled at 9:15 a.m. with Hallie Eakin, associate professor at Arizona State University's Global Institute of Sustainability, and at 1:30 p.m. with Ashwini Chhatre, assistant professor in the Department of Geography at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Eakin's research explores how rural populations are vulnerable to the effects of environmental change and the global economy. She is currently looking at how coffee farmers adapt to changing conditions in Mexico and Central America.

Chhatre's research focuses on the intersection of democracy with environment and development, with a recent emphasis on climate change vulnerability and adaptation.

Other panels include "Industrialization in the Context of Climate Change" and "Sustaining Development or Building Equity?: Compensating the Vulnerable Poor for Climate Change."

The conference is organized by the Interdisciplinary Development Working Group and made possible by the Center for Global, International and Regional Studies, the Science and Justice Working Group, and the sociology and environmental studies departments at UCSC.

Registration may be made at idwg@ucsc.edu.