Talk: Population and Climate Change: Neglected Connections

Media Advisory

What: Talk: Population and Climate Change: Neglected Connections

When: 2:00-4:00 p.m., March 30, 2001

Where: American Association for the Advancement of Science
Abelson and Haskins Rooms, 1200 New York Avenue, NW, Washington DC

Sponsors: US Committee for the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis and AAAS International Directorate

Who: Authors of Population and Climate Change:
Brian O’Neill, Asst. Professor, Watson Institute for International Studies, Brown University, Providence, RI Landis MacKellar, Leader of IIASA’s Social Security Reform Project, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Laxenburg, Austria Wolfgang Lutz, Secretary General, IUSSP; and Leader of IIASA’s Population Project, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Moderator: Barbara Boyle Torrey, Executive Director, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education, National Academy of Sciences

Population policies could have substantial climate-related benefits, conclude the authors of a new book published by Cambridge University Press in November 2000. The book, Population and Climate Change, examines the role that population growth, aging, and urbanization play in the production of greenhouse gas emissions, and the resilience of societies to climate stresses on agriculture, human health, and migration. “This is the first systematic, quantitative work to be done on population, climate and the environment. It is expert, thorough, and, what is most pertinent, believable,” noted Cambridge University economist Partha Dasgupta.

The three authors will discuss their conclusions about the link between population and climate change policies and the most fruitful avenues for further research. There will be a brief presentation by each of the authors followed by a lengthy period for questions and discussion.

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