The Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar (SFS-Q) is hosting a lecture, "From Kyoto to COP18", today.
The discussions make up part of a series of open lectures on climate change, being held until December 2 at the SFS-Q, bringing together thought leaders on this topic.
The lecture by Dr Mari Luomi, a research associate, is topical considering that Qatar is hosting the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP18/CMP8) from November 26 to December 7.
The lecture will help inform the audience of the background of the major event, as well as how the international negotiations on climate change under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change has evolved and expanded in the past two decades.
In her lecture, Dr Luomi will make a case for why multilateral climate change negotiations, despite a currently widening gap between science and politics, are indispensable for reaching a climate-safe future.
She has published several papers on climate change, including the responses to it by Gulf countries.
Her research focuses on the climate change-related responses of Gulf states, with a special emphasis on Qatar and the UAE (Abu Dhabi).
Tomorrow, Dr Robert Corell, the principal of the Global Environment and Technology Foundation, will discuss "Global Warming and the Oceans: Melting of the Ice Caps, Sea Level Rise and Acidification".
Rising sea levels are a serious threat to Qatar, which is a low-lying coastal nation and Dr Corell, whose research focuses on the vulnerability of communities to climate change, will explain the science behind this particular threat.
Dr Brahma Chellaney, who has written six books on environment issues, will present the next lecture, "Global Warming and the Land: Are We Heading for Water Wars in Himalayan Asia?" on November 18.
The challenges to the Asian region, which is home to three-fifths of the human population, will be addressed in this lecture.
The final lecture in the series, "Climate Change: Carbon Taxes, Cap and Trade, Renewables, Sequestration and Other Remedies" on December 2, will focus on a key part of the COP18/CMP8 sessions.
Dr Nathan Hultman, the director of Environment and Energy Policy Programmes at the School of Public Policy, University of Maryland, will give an overview of some of the solutions used and considered by the 194 nations who are part of the UN Climate Change Conference.
