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News

York holds its first annual Climate Change Month hosted by the Organized Research Units

Hosted by various Organized Research Units (ORUs), York celebrates its first annual Climate Change Research Month this March with events taking place just every few days. Organized by Professor Elaine Coburn, director of the Centre for Feminist Research (CFR), ORUs have come together to contribute varied and broad-ranging discussions and screenings focused on various aspects of climate change.

The commitment to creating an annual Climate Change Month is another crucial step towards widespread education and another example of how York is committed to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

“The climate crisis stands to impact every aspect of our lives, including areas such as employment, equity, health, and the wellbeing of our communities,” says York’s Vice President Research and Innovation, Dr. Amir Asif.

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Events

Gender Equality in Low-Carbon Economies: Continuities, Contradictions, Disruptions
March 3, 2022
12:00-1:30 p.m.
The Centre for Feminist Research presents a talk by Canada Research Chair in Global Womens Issues and a Professor at Western University, Bipasha Baruah. This presentation identifies opportunities and constraints for women’s employment in renewable and clean energy in industrialized, emerging and developing economies, and makes recommendations for optimizing their participation.  
Learn more and register.

Aging is a Hot Topic in a Warming World
March 4, 2022
12:00-1:00 p.m.
The York University Centre for Aging Research and Education presents a talk by Tamara Daly, a political economist and health services researcher. This talk explores how climate change actions engage with inter-generational tropes. It highlights fault lines, raises questions about inter-generational blame and points to how we might consider inter-generational solidarity for climate action moving forward.
Learn more and register.

Pikopayin — It is Broken (Film)
March 7, 2022
3:00-4:30 p.m.
The Centre for Indigenous Knowledges and Languages presents a documentary video project. Taking place in the oil sands regions of Alberta, Pîkopayin (It is Broken), the film foregrounds Bigstone Cree Nation members’ perspectives and insights on energy projects and industrial activity within Treaty 8 Territory. The video project documents Bigstone Cree Nation members’ experiences of resource-extraction projects and activity within the First Nation’s traditional territory.
Learn more and register.

Climate Change, Sea Level Rise, and Community Planetary Health in Bangladesh
March 9, 2022
10:00 - 11:00 a.m.
Increasing salinity induced by sea level rise is causing planetary health impacts in the world's coastal communities. The coastal area of Bangladesh is no exception; the health and well-being of communities in coastal areas in Bangladesh have been strongly affected by increased water and soil salinity. These planetary health impacts can be categorized as (1) primary (communicable and non-communicable diseases; scarcity of potable water), (2) secondary (food and nutrition security; migration and related health impacts), and (3) tertiary (adaptation-related emerging diseases; disaster-related health vulnerability). Dr. Byomkesh Talukder will explore these multidimensional health impacts and associated salinity factors and present a collective intelligence-based framework to address the challenges currently being faced by coastal communities in Bangladesh.
Learn more and register.

Just Renewal Energy Transitions and the Climate Emergency
March 10, 2022
1:00-2:00 p.m.
The Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies presents an event that addresses how can renewable energy be transformative for communities and what new research areas and opportunities this provides for current scholars wishing to pursue a just renewable energy transition in research and in practice. The event features Christina Hoicka, an associate professor at the University of Victoria's department of geography.
Learn more and register.

Faith-Based Environmental Action: The Jewish Experience
March 14, 2022
12:00 p.m.
Hosted by the Israel and Golda Koschitzky Centre for Jewish Studies, Tanhum Yoreh (University of Toronto) will deliver a talk about examining faith-based environmentalism and the ways that specific Jewish values are emphasized. His talk highlights how faith leaders and activists are increasingly vocal about environment and climate issues.
Learn more and register.

Café 17 with Risk and Insurance Studies Centre
March 15, 2022
9:00-10:00 a.m.
Towards the formal launch of the Consortium of Excellence for the 17 Goals, please be invited to the organization's 2nd gathering, a.k.a. Café 17, at 9-00 am EST on March 15, 2022. The topic of the conversation this time is quantifying the contribution of inclusive insurance to helping the "missing middle" avoid poverty and climb the socio-economic ladder in the era of limited data.

Host: Professor Séverine Arnold (-Gaille), University of Lausanne;
Special Guests: Lisa Morgan and Aparna Dalal, International Labour Organization;
Panelists: Professors Corina Constantinescu, University of Liverpool; Ida Ferrara and Ed Furman, York University.
Learn more and register.

Cities and the Climate Crisis
March 17, 2022
1:00-2:30 p.m.
Cities cause climate change. What are we doing about it? Dr. Laura Taylor will provide an informative and timely discussion of the issues and challenges of cities and climate change, drawing upon her experience in the Toronto area. Cities are undergoing a paradigm shift to deal with climate change through a variety of actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from energy use and to prepare to be more resilient to climate impacts, while promising environmental justice and social equity.
Learn more and register.

Agents for Change: Facing the Anthropocene
March 21, 2022
11:00-12:30 p.m.
Sensorium: Centre for Digital Arts and Technology presents a curated and artist talk featuring Liz Miller, Jane Tingley and Nina Czeglady.
The presenters are Elizabeth Miller (Feminist Media Lab, Concordia), Nina Czgledy (Leonardo Network) and Jane Tingley (SLO Lab, AMPD).  A listening booth will also be set up to show Liz Miller’s work The Shore Line (2017) that week, an interactive Documentary that features over 40 collaborative videos made with individuals who are confronting the threats of unsustainable development and extreme weather with persistence and ingenuity. 
Learn more and register.

Thinking like an Archipelago: Design and Spatial Practice for Climate Change Adaptation in Indonesia
March 22, 2022
11:30-1:00 p.m.
The York University Centre for Asian Research presents a talk featuring speakers: Teti Argo and Nashin Mahtani. In the wake of the failure of talks at COP 26, scholars and activists have taken grassroots actions to build for communities an alternative infrastructure they need for climate change adaptation. This talk presents a discussion about what we can learn from the local residential knowledges of residing alongside rivers in Jakarta; how the residents develop their own sense of risk and coping mechanism in and through social media; how they work at the local level with scholars, designers and activists to provide a shared structure of knowledge and practice below the formal system of adaptation and mitigation plan.
Learn more and register.

UN World Water Day - Human Environmental Health, Engagement with Indigenous Communities, and Engineering Scientific Solutions 
March 22, 2022
9:00-12:00 p.m.
Co-hosted by CIFAL York and the Office of the Provost, in partnership with the Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research, York University and part of CIFAL York’s In-Focus Knowledge Exchange Series for Nature, Climate, and People.

The impacts of climate change and ecosystem degradation are experienced by local communities regionally and around the world. These experiences are exacerbated by underlying social inequities. World Water Day is an opportunity to contextualize research that sheds light on these experiences against the backdrop of global efforts to boost ambition on adaptation action, and strengthening inter-regional and cross-boundary adaptation to the impacts of planetary stressors  — e.g., food systems, water, agriculture and fisheries, and energy — with special focus on human and environmental health. This one-day event will have presentations from convenors Drs. Sapna Sharma and Idil Boran  and a keynote address from Dr. James Orbinski. As well, Dahdaleh Institute’s Global Health and Humanitarianism Fellow Dr. Syed Imran Ali (and many others) will engage in discussions on the science and governance of freshwater, including Human and Environmental Health; Local Actors and Communities; and Engineering Scientific Solutions. 
Learn more and register.

Climate Risk Day Workshop with Risk and Insurance Studies Centre
March 23, 2022
9:00-12:30 p.m.
As part of the commitment to the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals, Risk and Insurance Studies Centre at York University is delighted to invite everyone to a one-day workshop that brings together renowned international scholars from distinct disciplines and influential leaders from the private sector, aimed at generating awareness of climate change risks and mobilising the community to take action.
Presenters Corina Constantinescu, Mathematics, University of Liverpool, UK; Sapna Sharma, Biology, York University, Canada; Eric Jondeau, Finance, University of Lausanne, Switzerland; Usman Khan, Engineering, York University, Canada.
Panel lead: David McGown, Canadian Business Coalition for Climate Policy.
Learn more and register.

Children’s Brain Development in a Changing Climate
March 24, 2022
11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
LaMarsh Centre for Child & Youth Research will be hosting a climate change seminar on "Children’s Brain Development in a Changing Climate". Brain development in the early years lays the foundation for lifelong cognitive function, productivity, and mental health. How does the changing climate threaten children's brain development globally? This presentation will provide an overview of impacts on child health and development of both the sudden climate change effects, including extreme weather events, extreme heat, and effects on natural systems; and consequences of the changing climate, such as displacement, migration, and social instability. Some key challenges towards to studying and modelling these impacts will be shared. Finally, action and commitments to protect children from climate change will be highlighted. The session concludes with reflections in small groups.
Learn more and register.

The African Diaspora and Climate Change: New Global Scholarship
March 28, 2022
2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
The Harriet Tubman Institute for Research on Africa and its Diasporas features a special event with Marcondes Coelho, Dr. Chrislain Eric Kenfack, Balikisu Osman. Marcondes Coelho is a forest engineer and holds a Master's degree in Environmental and Forest Sciences. Dr. Chrislain Eric Kenfack's research is at the heart of the critical issues of our times. His questions concern the grounds for solidarity among social movements. Balikisu Osman is finishing her PhD in Environmental Studies at York University. Her doctoral research focuses on climate risks, household responses and sustainable food security in northern Ghana. 
Learn more and register.

Climate Change in the Caribbean: The Role of Capital in the Climate Crisis and the Movement for Climate Justice
March 31, 2022
6-7:30 p.m.
The Centre for Research on Latin America and the Caribbean (CERLAC) is pleased to present Malene Alleyne and Dr. Esther Figueroa to discuss Climate Change in the Caribbean. Join us for an important and timely presentation that will discuss the role that capital plays in the Climate Crisis and the movement towards Climate Justice in the Caribbean. Malene Alleyne is a Jamaican human rights lawyer and founder of Freedom Imaginaries with a Master of Laws degree from Harvard Law School and a Master of Advanced Studies degree from the Graduate Institute of International Studies, Geneva. Dr. Esther Figueroa is a Jamaican independent film maker, writer, educator and linguist with over thirty-five years of media productions.
Learn more and register.