Navigating Possibilities (Asynchronous Session)
Political Strategy Lessons from the Covid-19 Pandemic for Combatting Climate Change: "This Pandemic Is Really Like a War. In a War, You Do What You Have To Do." View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Benedict Edward DeDominicis
The Covid-19 pandemic has illustrated the central role of the state as embodied by the government in orchestrating societal responses to natural disasters. The Covid-19 pandemic is that; a natural disaster, just as climate change is producing increasing severity and frequency of natural disasters. Literature on corporatism that emerged in the 1970s initially made a distinction between malign corporatism of fascism in the first half of the twentieth century. It was distinct from non-coercive, benign postwar corporatism manifested in the industrialized democracies in continental Europe and Asia. Other analyses highlighted the First World War mobilization of national resources as well as the interwar efforts to mobilize societal resources to address the national crises. This mobilization happened under wartime circumstances which may have been nominally democracies or under authoritarian regimes preparing for war. The corporatist organization of societal resources, including the application of coercion and other control mechanisms to control human resources, was distinct from Bolshevism/Communism. Malign corporatism relied on coercion and fear to control a large section of society that rejected granting legitimacy to the authorities. One feature of these regimes was that appeals to nationalist sentiment among supporters was also a significant source of control. Authorities that rely upon militant nationalist appeals as part of control regime are also more prone to portray an external political environment characterized by threats and opportunities. These perceived threats and opportunities are more likely to be perceived in stereotypical terms. These regimes are also more likely to overestimate their relative power capabilities.
Featured Non-national Climate Action in the Age of State Inaction: The Nature and Significance of the Private Sector Climate Consensus
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Charlotte Hulme
While many states have absented themselves from playing a constructive role in addressing climate change, proving either unable to overcome domestic political gridlock or unwilling to place climate change ahead of other policy priorities, some of the world's most powerful companies now not only acknowledge it as a major business risk, but also are doing more to address it than is legally required. I present a theory of emergent consensus to explain how companies came to understand and treat the low-carbon future as inevitable, despite limited regulatory pressure and their uneven perceptions of the near-term risks and opportunities posed by climate change. Drawing on empirical evidence from the United States, Germany, and India, I consider the conditions under which non-national actors may come to address this kind of transnational risk in the absence of state action.
Risk Preparedness: How We Can All Contribute to Flood and Stormwater Management View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Aglae Casault, Isabelle Thomas
This research project is led by the research group of Professor Isabelle Thomas of the Faculty of Environmental Design of the Université de Montréal. It is carried out in collaboration with the Ministère de la Sécurité Publique du Québec and several other municipalities in Quebec. Its objective is to develop an action strategy to communicate on flood-related risks, adapted to the local context of communities, as well as to evaluate the effectiveness of its communication tools. Risk communication is an essential step towards the improvement of resilience within a community. In recent decades, Quebec has been facing major floods, both from open water as well as from ice jams and torrential rains. Knowledge of flood-related risks is more necessary than ever. Reflections on land use planning issues in flood-prone areas have emerged and raised real awareness of the need to rethink land use planning in-depth and to prepare citizens to deal with this type of risk. As a result, the government is currently working on developing an action plan to more effectively handle this issue. The recurrence and intensity of floods affected by climate change according to the seasons constitute major risks and endanger the safety of the population. Risk communication helps prepare citizens to take responsibility and enable them to take the necessary measures to help them adapt their homes and yard, but also to protect themselves. Our team has developed a communication strategy regarding the adaptation of homes and land to reduce extensive damages caused by water.
Defense Responses to Climate Change: Legal and Policy Analysis View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Kristen Fletcher
Within the last two years, more than thirty senior officials at the US Department of Defense (DOD) have publicly raised concerns about, and recommended actions to address, the security implications of climate change, both due to its effect on military infrastructure, readiness and operations, and its broader geostrategic implications for the US and allies. Risks identified by DOD and State Department officials include the potential for political and economic unrest, in partner nations and elsewhere, stress on US military operations and basing, risks to human and animal health, and the drivers of disruptive human migration. Changes and increased commercial and military activity in the Arctic also affect US security. This study shares a legal and policy analysis of recent DOD responses to climate change and its impacts including DOD directives and policies, congressional and executive actions, and strategic decisions made to address operational challenges, physical impacts to the U.S. and other nation’s bases, impacts of increased activity in the Arctic, impacts to intelligence facilities, and, climate-related impacts to allies.
Climate Adaptation in Small and Rural Communities: Using Regional Approaches to Build Capacity View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Lauren Rethoret, Jayme Jones
Local governments operate on the front lines of climate change given their role in emergency response and their responsibility for delivering services that are highly vulnerable to extreme weather. Effective adaptation of local government services requires significant changes to planning and operational approaches. Due to the size of their staff and/or tax base, however, local governments representing small or rural communities often lack the capacities required to plan and implement these changes. The Rural Climate Adaptation Capacity Building Project, delivered by Selkirk College in partnership with nine small local governments in southeast British Columbia, uses a regional approach to overcome capacity challenges limiting climate adaptation progress in participating communities. The project has advanced regional adaptation and adaptation readiness by facilitating relationships between communities. By joining forces, the communities have been able to access significant adaptation resources, including funding for adaptation initiatives, reliable climate science, input from leading experts on priority adaptation subjects, and leadership from a neutral, innovation-focused organization. Importantly, project participants have also shared with, and learned from, their peers—many of whom are tackling similar adaptation challenges in a comparable geographic, social, and political context. This regional approach has also met with drawbacks, including the scarcity of time that local government staff have to contribute to adaptation initiatives that are not led from within their own organization. This study reviews the advantages, disadvantages, and necessary precursors for success that the project team has discovered while working to form and facilitate regional partnerships focused on climate change adaptation.
