Prospects for Global Coordination in an Age of Pandemics and Emerging Climate Technologies

Much like efforts to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, combatting climate change requires cooperation on a global scale. And yet the history of international climate negotiations shows just how difficult that cooperation can be.

At the same time, new technologies to alter the climate are emerging, posing their own challenges to multilateralism. What, if anything, can we learn from the global response to the pandemic that might aid us in governing new, climate-altering technologies? What functions and mechanisms are needed? How important is leadership in not only responding to, but anticipating and preparing for these global challenges? What role do ethics play in governance decisions?

These are challenges the Carnegie Climate Governance Initiative (C2G) knows well. Their work is focused on catalyzing the creation of effective and inclusive governance for emerging technologies that would seek to deliberately alter the one atmosphere we all share. For the past three years, they've met with senior decision-makers around the world in national governments, the UN system and civil society, urging them to explore questions such as risk management and transparent global monitoring and reporting before events overtake.

To share her knowledge on these issues, CCEIA is very pleased to have Cynthia Scharf, C2G's senior strategy director, as our honored speaker in a virtual Zoom conference on  Wednesday, April 29, 2020 from 12:00 to 1:00 pm to discuss "Prospects for Global Coordination in an Age of Pandemics and Emerging Climate Technologies" with Carnegie Council President Joel Rosenthal.