Events

Register for the OCRN Annual Lecture | 4pm 30th April

OCRN Annual Lecture and Panel Discussion

"A mosaic of solutions for frontline communities: People-centered, operationally relevant ways to address adverse climate change impacts", Dr Koko Warner

4pm Tuesday 30th April 2024, Trinity College Levine Building, Oxford

An event in memory of Saleemul Huq OBE (1952 - 2023).

Register at this link

Lecture and Panel Discussion (4 - 6 PM)

Join the Oxford Climate Research Network for the 2024 OCRN Annual Lecture by Dr Koko Warner, entitled "A mosaic of solutions for frontline communities: People-centered, operationally relevant ways to address adverse climate change impacts". The lecture will be followed by a panel discussion with climate experts from across Oxford University, chaired by Prof Benito Müller.

Reception and Poster Session (6 - 7 PM)

Following the lecture and panel discussion, we invite attendees to join us at the drinks reception, where posters from members of the Oxford Climate Research Network will also be on display.

Banner image advertising the OCRN Annual Lecture about Addressing Climate Change Impacts, on the 30th of April at 4pm at Trinity College, Oxford

Dr Koko Warner is the Director of the International Organization for Migration’s Global Data Institute. Prior to this, Koko worked in the United Nations for over 16 years on climate change and migration, and climate risk management. Koko supervises the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) workstreams on climate impacts, vulnerabilities, and risk policy in the adaptation division.

This event is held in memory of Saleemul Huq OBE (1952 - 2023), an acclaimed climate change researcher and campaigner who worked tirelessly to centre the needs of frontline communities. Saleemul was the director of the International Centre for Climate Change and Development in Bangladesh and a "titan of the climate movement". 

As climate change impacts unfold rapidly worldwide, people-centered and operationally relevant ways to support frontline communities become increasingly important. Saleemul Huq worked tirelessly to this aim, and for those who had the privilege of working with him in Bangladesh, in Least Developed Countries, in academia and with civil society, and with governments, we have benefitted from his legacy. Saleemul and many gathered here today and across the world contributed to progress under the UNFCCC process to establish funding arrangements including a fund to address adverse climate change impacts. As the new fund takes shape and a high level dialogue will make recommendations on funding arrangements, what directions are needed to address needs and provide solutions?

This keynote explores three questions surrounding modalities that can be deployed to address adverse impacts for frontline communities:

  • What are the gaps in solutions relevant to frontline communities? Climate change is anticipated to have enduring effects on the real economy, manifesting as supply chain and employment impacts, diminishing social coherence, and cultural loss. All of these stress societies and public and private budgets and affect how and where people live. Slow-onset events may involve redistribution of populations through migration. This will require insights from social, economic, and climate data. Addressing these needs should improve peoples’ situation, not keep them at the brink of survival.
  • What steps will improve coherence and coordination across the landscape of global, regional, and national institutions that currently fund activities? Support from humanitarian funding currently delivers emergency payouts, injecting cash and support for temporary shelter, food, and basic life support. Additional instruments fuel investments through credit, bonds, and budget reallocations, and help finance reconstruction and recovery. Saleemul Huq’s work reminds us that climate impacts demand tools that buoy people’s ability to navigate disruptions across their life cycle, not keep them at the brink of survival.
  • What would capital stocks look like that combine current (and future) financial modalities to better address needs and promote stability? A mosaic of tools and actors now needs to be brought more closely into cooperation to augment stability that is inclusive of those at risk of being left behind.

Considerable research is needed on economic tools that provide stability in spite of disruptions. The scientific community can bolster people-centered, operationally relevant work to benefit communities at the frontlines of climate change impacts.