6 October 2006
The question of whether China and India can achieve economic development without substantially increasing the risks of climate change will be discussed at the Monash University Sustainability Forum this month.
An international authority on climate change and developing nations, Professor Thomas Heller of Stanford University, will deliver an address titled China, Coal and Climate: Dealing with Emerging Economies after Kyoto. He will examine the failure of Kyoto Protocol negotiations to engage China and India and discuss whether the two developing nations can achieve growth without substantially increasing the risks to the environment.
Professor Heller is the Lewis Talbot and Nadine Hearn Shelton Professor of International Legal Studies at Stanford University in the United States and has worked on the building of clean power plants in China. He is a Lead Author for the United Nations Environment Program Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change and a consultant with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development in Geneva.
The head of the Monash University School of Geography and Environmental Science, Professor Chris Cocklin said Professor Heller's lecture will address a critical issue for Australia and the world - how much China and India could potentially accelerate human-induced climate change. "There is a view in Australia that climate change is something that will happen in the future, but the reality is that we are almost certainly seeing signs of it in action now. Professor Heller addresses the critical question of whether these countries can achieve economic development without substantially increasing the risks," Professor Cocklin said.
What: Monash Sustainability Forum China, Coal and Climate: Dealing with Emerging Economies after Kyoto.
Who: Professor Thomas Heller, Stanford University, Professor in International Legal Studies
When : 5pm Monday 16 October, 2006 (light refreshments at 4.30 pm)
Where : Monash Conference Centre, Level 7, 30 Collins St, Melbourne
For more information contact Head of the Monash School of Geography and Environmental Science, Professor Chris Cocklin on + 61 3 9905 2926 or Media Communications Officer, Ms Sharon Lee on +61 3 9905 9919.
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