September 18, 2020

Academic session organized by the Environment and Human Development Studying Committee

By María Florencia Avena, Volunteer for the Communications Division

Two experts from the European environmental agenda reflected on the climate change mitigation strategies that they have implemented in their countries, and recommended possible steps to follow for their Argentine colleagues in a new virtual academic session from the Committee for Environmental Studies and Human Development. The event was attended by its director, Ambassador Elsa Kelly, and engineer Pablo Bereciartua, who greeted those present in two languages on the morning of September 18th.

The first guest to speak was Jim W. Hall, Professor of Environmental and Climate Hazards at the University of Oxford, and Director of Research at the School of Geography and Environment. He is a member of the British Council of the Prime Minister for Science and Technology, and is also a counselor in the National Infrastructure Commission of that country. He is internationally recognized for his contributions on environmental risk and analysis adaptation strategies.

Second was Anders Wijkman, president of the EIT Climate-KIC governing board. He served the European Parliament and the Swedish Parliament, his home country. He was Director of Policies of the UNDP. He co-chaired the Club of Rome between 2012 and 2018, is president of the Swedish Association of Recycling Industries, and a member of the Swedish Agency for International Development Cooperation (SIDA). He received his doctorate from Linköping University in 2011.

Bereciartua gave a brief presentation of the climatic phenomena that Argentina is currently experiencing, based on the analysis of satellite images taken from Google Earth. He emphasized four of these phenomena: the melting of ice, which has been studied from the bases of Antarctica; at the other territorial end, he cited the droughts in the Cuyo region; to the north he pointed out the high degree of deforestation in provinces such as Chaco; then, he described "the fragile situation of the ecosystems" in the Mesopotamian area, and highlighted the importance of preserving "one of the main bodies of water in our territory". Finally, he reviewed some historical investments in infrastructure, and in anticipation of the European experience he asked himself: "How can we undertake public policies that preserve the environment and in turn imply economic development? Is democratic governance evolving to cope with climate change? And finally, has the pandemic been a trigger for the rapid implementation of an environmental agenda?".

Hall, for his part, covered two topics. First, he described the climate change adaptation strategies that the UK government has implemented. Then, he revealed how they have generated, from the Independent Committee for Adaptation to Climate Change, the knowledge to inform both the government and potential investors. He acknowledged that policies in this area had been going on for several years, and that some bases even dated back to the government of Margaret Thatcher. However, he said that the true starting point had been the Climate Change Act of 2008, when Parliament discussed the mitigation of climate change and set goals for 2050. He explained that since then, the Committee has been created to control the fulfillment of these goals and to update the information on climate risks every five years, "a fundamental point to establish priorities when creating a strategy". The specialist pointed out the development of the National Adaptation Program, which, according to the professor, required investors from the energy and infrastructure sectors to present a report on the steps they were taking in adapting to climate change. Hall warned that in practice, the act of Parliament meant an advantage because it gave a legal framework to the debate: "politicians come and go, and the legislation has been a matter that, to a greater or lesser extent, they can attend, but never ignore". He confessed that adaptation was difficult to measure, which is why in the productive sectors, such as infrastructure, transport and energy, strict regulation becomes essential. To close, he presented an analysis on the risks of the Argentine transportation system, based on fluvial and rain statistics, which took into account rail networks, ports, airports, bridges and highways. In this sense, he suggested some adaptation options and the economic impact they would reflect. "Adaptation policies are expensive", he said, but insisted that if a cost-benefit comparison was made, the strategies are profitable both in terms of climatic risks (because floods could be avoided, for example) and economically, as new markets could be created if "smart decisions" are made.

For his part, Wijkman acknowledged the UK's regulatory strength, revealing that his country's legislation was inspired by that of London. In the first place, he pointed out that since the 70s and 80s he had begun to get involved in the debate, and that the lack of awareness in society had been an obstacle. He argued that it was not until October 2019 that this situation took a turn, when the administration of the European Commission changed. The new leadership published the so-called Green Deal, "a project that puts everything in its place", according to the doctor, noting that it was taking up the discussions that had been going on for decades, and that it basically placed the problem of climate change as a emergency: "it is about rethinking the efficient use of materials in industries with more emissions, such as transport, energy and industries; and a new look at agriculture".

Like any project planned for this year, the environmental agenda cannot escape the pandemic. In this sense, Wijkman informed the audience of the recovery packagethat the European Union has developed to contain the social and economic impact of COVID-19. "The pandemic has shown us the importance of acting early, and it has taught us to act quickly", he reflected. Thus, he stressed that the goals for climate change mitigation have been renewed, finally optimistic: "they intend to reduce emissions by 55% by 2030", he said, among other objectives. He raised the need to rethink agriculture in the European Union, and emphasized the recurring floods in the region. On the other hand, he argued that it was essential to promote these agendas in developing countries, and advise them when investing in green energy, especially in those that register growth in their population. He stressed that cooperation is essential for global value chains and pointed out: "no one should be excluded".