Presented by the HC Coombs Policy Forum, ANU

The Climate Fix

Professor Roger Pielke Jr.
Professor of Environmental Studies, Centre for Science & Technology Policy Research, University of Colorado at Boulder

Thursday 2 February 2012
5.30 - 6.30pm followed by light refreshments

Acton Theatre  Ground Floor Crawford School of Economics and Government, Building #132, Lennox Crossing, ANU, Canberra. See Google map.

The world’s response to climate change is deeply flawed.

The conventional wisdom on how to deal with climate change has failed and it’s time to change course. To date, climate policies have been guided by targets and timetables for emissions reduction derived from various academic exercises. Such methods are both oblivious to and in violation of on-the-ground political and technological realities that serve as practical ‘boundary conditions’ for effective policy making.

Until climate policies are designed with respect for these boundary conditions, failure is certain. Using nothing more than arithmetic and logical explanation, this talk provides a comprehensive exploration of the problem and a proposal for a more effective way forward.

Professor Pielke’s research focuses on the intersection of science and technology and decision making.

Roger A. Pielke, Jr. has been on the faculty of the University of Colorado since 2001 and is a Professor in the Environmental Studies Program and a Fellow of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES). At CIRES, Roger served as the Director of the Center for Science and Technology Policy Research from 2001-2007. In 2006 Roger received the Eduard Brückner Prize in Munich, Germany for outstanding achievement in interdisciplinary climate research. Before joining the University of Colorado, from 1993-2001 Roger was a Scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. Professr Pielke has appointments as a Research Fellow, Risk Frontiers, Macquarie University; Visiting Senior Fellow, Mackinder Programme, London School of Economics; and Senior Visiting Fellow at the Consortium for Science, Policy and Outcomes of Arizona State University. He is also a Senior Fellow of The Breakthrough Institute, a progressive think tank.

Professor Pielke is author, co-author or co-editor of seven books, including 'The Honest Broker: Making Sense of Science in Policy and Politics' (2007, Cambridge University Press) and his most recent book 'The Climate Fix: What Scientists and Politicians Won't Tell You About Global Warming' (2010, Basic Books).

Enquiries: contact Olivia Wenholz, HC Coombs Policy Forum

E: events.coombs.forum@anu.edu.au  T: +61 2 6125 7067  W: publicpolicy.anu.edu.au/coombs/