Public lecture - Understanding Climate Change: Reviewing the Past and Mapping Out Future Implications

‘It is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land. Widespread and rapid changes in the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere and biosphere have occurred.’ These are the opening sentences of the Sixth Assessment Report of Working Group I of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), an international effort that takes stock of the causes and impacts of ongoing and future climate change. 

In the first part of this talk, Dr Jed O KAPLAN will introduce the findings of recent climate change research based on this landmark report, answering questions such as:

¨ how much has the planet warmed over the last 150 years? 

¨ What are the impacts of this warming? 

¨ How do we know humans are causing this warming? 

¨ What is future climate change likely to look like? 

Dr Kaplan will show that while climate change is already happening, acting now can reduce the risks of damaging climate change in the future. And with particular relevance to Hong Kong, Dr Kaplan will also map out the implications of future climate change for the region.

Thus, in the second part of this talk, he will overview the opportunities and risks presented by emerging climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies, including new technologies, global tree planting efforts, and climate-proofing cities.

Playback video:

Speaker Dr Jed O KAPLAN

Associate Professor, Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Science, HKU

Dr Jed O KAPLAN is an Associate Professor in the Department of Earth Sciences at HKU. He is the author of more than 120 scholarly articles on climate change-related topics, and his research on climate risks and solutions has been incorporated into the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Assessments and numerous reports for governments and NGOs.

 

His research uses computer simulation modelling of the earth system to understand how climate change influences land cover, land use, human activities, and vice versa. He is particularly interested in the interdisciplinary study of global environmental history over the past millennia and how decisions people make about land use affect both climate and human health.