Abstract
Dr Amiera Sawas brings together social and natural scientists to investigate the question: is climate change causing insecurity? Working across Imperial College and King’s College London, and with civil society, government and the private sector, Amiera has been compiling evidence and conducting research to try to better understand these linkages. In this talk she will present the ‘facts’ about climate change and insecurity, and then will highlight how there is an agenda-driven, politics of information which has prevented a clear understanding of what is happening, and what are the appropriate policy responses.
Furthermore, she asks: do responses to climate change, for example through adaptation and renewables projects, have the potential to promote peace, or perhaps create insecurity?
About the Speaker
Amiera is currently working in Pakistan and is setting up projects in Jordan and Lebanon to investigate these questions. Amiera uses participatory approaches to research, bringing citizens from the global south into the process of creating ‘facts’ and information.
About the Series
The Grantham Changing Planet seminar series is run by students and staff on the Science and Solutions for a Changing Planet (SSCP) Doctoral Training Program. The aim is to complement the diversity of environmental research here at Imperial College London and promote links to the broader community in UK and beyond. It offers the chance to hear the latest in understanding, adapting to and mitigating environmental problems.