Climate Smart Agriculture in Asia: Measurements, Implementation Strategy and Challenges

by Kritee Kritee
Senior Scientist, International Climate, Environmental Defense Fund

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Abstract: To feed a world of 9 billion people in 2050, it is vital to work with farmers in the developing world because many farms in developed countries have already reached what are currently maximum possible yields. A vast majority of farmers in developing countries own small-scale farms (< 2 acres in size) and are on the frontline of experiencing worsening impacts of climate change (e.g., increasing droughts, floods, seawater intrusion and heat waves). It is also crucial to note that protecting forests, increasing carbon content of the soils, water and N use efficiency can decrease global emissions by as much as 13 gigatons CO2eq/year by 2030 – more than a quarter of current annual global emissions. Local, regional and international organizations must, therefore, help farmers access the knowledge and tools they need both to be resilient to climate change and to help mitigate it. This talk will discuss greenhouse gas emission measurements and culturally-sensitive implementation strategies Environmental Defense fund is engaged in five states in India to 1) promote evidence-based locally appropriate climate-smart agricultural practices, and 2) improve farmer’s access to finance to improve the adoption rate of these practices.

Biography: Kritee is a part of Environmental Defense Fund’s international climate team that is linking farmers to the carbon market in ways that promote mitigation, support development in the rural economy, accelerate poverty alleviation, and strengthen adaptation to the effects of climate change. She is helping lay the groundwork for agricultural carbon offset protocols for small land holdings by directing a multi-partner research team at the five GHG (nitrous oxide and methane) measurements laboratories across three states in Southern India. This research team is examining the effectiveness of innovative farming practices in delivering the three-fold goal of increased crop yields, better farm economics and decreased GHG emissions. She also provides scientific input to EDF’s domestic legal teams’ efforts to improve government policies related to the energy sector, with a focus on mercury pollution from electric generation units.

Let’s Hear from the People: A Study on Media Impact on Climate Protection and Climate Adaptation

by Gesa Luedecke
Sustainability Sciences, Leuphana University, Lueneburg Germany

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Abstract: Tackling sustainability and climate change issues requires concern and participation on every societal level. Reflecting on public discussions about sustainability and climate change in Germany over the past two decades, the individual level for taking action has scarcely been considered within this context. Besides political efforts to achieve technological and entrepreneurial modifications towards sustainable production, education of the population is also necessary to attain sustainable consumption. Beyond educating instances (e.g. school, family or friends), media are particularly discussed as being a socializing instance for shaping individual values and orientations towards sustainability. But can they also promote incentives and motivations to act sustainably? It is necessary to investigate media communication patterns that can either facilitate or hinder opportunities for individual participation in sustainable developments. My talk will therefore focus on if and how media coverage on climate change can impact young people’s actions regarding sustainable behavior. Empirical findings of my dissertation will be presented and discussed during this noontime talk.

Biography: Gesa Luedecke studied Environmental Sciences at the University of Lueneburg, Germany with focus on environmental communications, sustainability and media as well as informal learning. Gesa holds a Diploma degree in Environmental Sciences and a Ph.D. in Sustainability Sciences from Leuphana University. She has ongoing interest in environmental and sustainability communication, climate change and sustainability communication via media, media communication and sustainable behavior as well as in inter- and transdisciplinary studies. Her research focus is on the influence of media communication about climate change on individual behavior. With her experience in transdisciplinary research, Gesa is seeking to provide support for cross-disciplinary collaborations on the themes of media communication and social learning for decision-making in climate-related issues.

Wednesday, November 12 at 4:00 PM

A talk by Jens Sejer Andersen
Danish Institute for Sports Studies, Aarhus, Denmark
journalist, international director and founder of Play the Game

University of Colorado Boulder
Eaton Humanities, Room 135
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Across the Western Hemisphere, a crisis of public confidence is shaking the International Olympic Committee and the international federations that deliver the Olympic competitions. At various referendums and public debates, taxpayers reject the prospect of bidding for future Olympics. Match-fixing with or without relation to gambling crime has caused police and governments to react worldwide. The doping industry continues to play cat-and-mouse with international controllers. FIFA and other governing bodies are regularly exposed for corruption, mismanagement and rigged elections. How can international sport get out of its political quagmire? One essential requirement is better governance in the international sports organisations, but the governing bodies that control world sport are reluctant to change. Play the Game’s advocacy for good governance in sport has positioned the initiative and the biennial Play the Game conference as a leading voice for democracy, transparency and freedom of expression in international sport. Play the Game’s founder and international director Jens Sejer Andersen will outline a number of current corruption cases in international sport and present some attempts to remedy the situation, among others the Sports Governance Observer, a benchmarking tool developed in cooperation with six European universities.

Blind Spots: Electronics Firms, and the Social and Environmental Harms of the Electronics Commodity Chain

by Lucy McAllister, Environmental Studies, University of Colorado

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Abstract: The global electronics commodity chain perpetuates widespread human and environmental harms, including the global sale of ‘conflict minerals’ that are used to fund the violence of warlords (Spectrum 2011), the depletion of virgin minerals and precious metals, primarily, from Africa (Boone & Ganeshan 2012), the persistence of unsafe and environmentally hazardous working conditions at electronics factories in Asia (Zhou 2013), and the abridgement of electronics workers’ rights to unionize (Cheng et al. 2012). The practices commonly used to recycle electronic waste (e-waste) in the informal sector of developing countries, where roughly 50-80% of the global hazardous e-waste stream is sent, also produce severe harms, including health risks especially for women and children (Frazzoli 2010).

Despite the lead role that multinational electronics firms’ likely play in the social and environmental harms of the electronics commodity chain, little research has been done on these issues. The aim of this project is thus to investigate how the specific role of lead firms in producing severe human and environmental problems throughout the electronics commodity chain has gone largely unnoticed by external audiences. Using impression management theory, I will ask whether or how electronics firms use impression management mechanisms to shift attention away from their detrimental business practices, thereby legitimizing themselves in the eyes of the public, and making it easier to sell their products and accumulate capital.

Biography: Before coming to study at the University of Colorado, Boulder, Lucy McAllister graduated summa cum laude from Connecticut College in 2009 with a B.A. in Environmental Studies and German Studies. After college, Lucy spent time in Hamburg, Germany on a Fulbright scholarship and, later, worked at the German Consulate in Chicago, Illinois. Lucy completed her M.S. in environmental studies at CU in May 2013, and has continued within the environmental studies program to pursue a PhD.

Broadly, Lucy explores the business-society-environment relationship, focusing on the role of lead firms in the human and environmental harms of the electronics commodity chain. She was the 2012 Theory in Critical Political Ecology Paper Competition Winner at the University of Kentucky’s Dimensions of Political Ecology Conference, and, in the fall of 2013, Lucy was awarded a CIRES Graduate Research Fellowship. Lucy’s first article, ‘Women, E-waste & Technological Solutions to Climate Change,’ was recently published by the Health and Human Rights Journal in June 2014.