Future of Development Symposiums

On March 8th, 2019, the symposium explored the strenuous requirements of keeping the global climate to 1.5C degrees above pre-industrial levels, including systematic transformations in land use and the application of new technologies. Experts were brought from around the country to discuss this pressing topic at Cornell University.

Some of the key questions of the event included:

• What are the technical requirements and expected impacts of large-scale carbon dioxide removal or geoengineering solutions?
• What is known about the effectiveness of the proposed interventions at scale?
• What policies and political strategies are needed to enable some of the approaches of carbon removal or geoengineering at scale?
• Who will have a say in what options are implemented and can these solutions be rolled out equitably?

Video resources

• Carbon Dioxide Removal and the 1.5C Report - Natalie Mahowald, Cornell University
• Global Potential of Natural Forest Regeneration for Mitigating Climate Change - Robin Chazdon, WRI
• Federal Carbon Capture and Removal Policy in the US - Erin Burns, Carbon 180
• Potential Avenues of International Governance for Carbon Dioxide Removal Approaches - Wil Burns
• Policy Learning for 'Super Wicked' Problems - Ben Cashore, Yale University

The “Bridging Science and Policy in the Sustainable Development Era” symposium, addressed the commitments of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In 2015, the U.N. established 17 sustainable development goals to reach by 2030. Those goals – in areas related to health, education, affordable and clean energy, climate action and others – were adopted to end poverty, protect the environment and ensure prosperity for all.

Video resources

To Engage or Not to Engage? A Critical Review of the Societal Gains from Evidence-Based Policy

• Nicole Bella, UNESCO
• Monica Contestabile, Nature Sustainability
• Jessica Cagley, USAID
• Olivier Dangles, IRD