Emerge Re
Conference
2021 Theme: Emerging Vs. Emerged Risks: When Emerging Risks Happen
01 December 2021
10:30 am - 12:30 pm EST
Online Zoom Meeting
Dr. Maryam Golnaraghi
Geneva Association
Dr. Blair Feltmate
Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation
Dr. Susan J. Elliott
University of Waterloo, United Nations University
Conference Theme
Emerging Versus Emerged Risks: When Emerging Risks Happen
01 Dec 2021
10:30 am EST
The lines are blurring between what we refer to as ‘emerging risks’ versus ‘emerged’ ones. Not long ago, the more palpable indications of climate change and associated extreme weather events, were more erratic in nature and difficult to attribute. Yet in the summer of 2021, the frequency and severity of extreme weather events crossed a marked threshold, with record-breaking heatwaves in North America, Turkey, North Africa, the Arctic, and Finland, wildfires across North America, Western Europe, Turkey, Greece, and Siberia, flooding throughout Western Europe and China’s Henan province, and landslides in India. Death, violence, and destruction featured widely across all of these events, be it mortalities in the elderly from extended heatwaves, civil unrest from water shortages, or outright casualty from flood, fire, or storm.
When emerging risks happen, our causal frameworks have to be rewired. Our mindsets have to change, along with our models. And our preparedness and adaptability end up being the measure of our resilience. We need a new understanding of the ‘everyday’ risks we can expect to face and how to prepare for them. Extreme weather events, and the associated impacts on lives, businesses, and industry, are no exception.
With the landmark 2021 IPCC report conveying code "red" to the general public, we are clearly not acting with sufficient haste to mitigate climate risks – why not? This session will focus on specific means – with accountabilities – to facilitate action to address both current emerged and more nascent emerging risks. The speakers will explore science-based strategies surrounding extreme weather events, the associated health impacts on society, and how we can shift the way we think about emerging and emerged risks.
Speakers
Join a conversation on emerging risks with renowned experts in climate change, policy, and public health
Dr. Blair Feltmate
Head, Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation
Blair is the Head of the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation. Previous positions he has held include Vice President, Sustainable Development, Bank of Montreal; Director, Sustainable Development, OPG; Partner, Sustainable Investment Group/YMG Capital Management; and President, Sustainable Systems Associates. Blair has written textbooks on Sustainable Banking (University of Toronto Press), and Aquatic Ecology (CAB International). He is generally interviewed by the media 100-150 times per year.
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Blair is a member of the Sustainable Finance Advisory Council, Global Risk Institute. He is Chair, Adaptation Committee, Canadian Institute for Climate Choices, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC). He is on the Advisory Board on Climate Change, Minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP), Ontario. He was Chair, Federal Government of Canada Expert Panel on Climate Adaptation and Resilience Results, and Chair, Electricity Transmission and Distribution Adaptation Standard, Canadian Standards Association. He is former Chair of Pollution Probe, and he was Chair/Founder of the Sustainable Electricity Program, Canadian Electricity Association.
Dr. Maryam Golnaraghi
Director, Climate Change and Environmental Risks, Geneva Association
With over 20 years in executive and senior advisory roles, Dr. Golnaraghi worked directly with a wide range of stakeholders to develop proactive policies, strategies and innovative solutions to building socio-economic resilience to extreme events and climate risks. Currently, as the Director of the Extreme Events and Climate Risks Program of The Geneva Association, Dr. Golnaraghi is leading several strategic projects related to: (1) resilience of critical infrastructure; (2) innovation in climate risk assessment and risk pricing tools; (3) socio-economic benefits of preventive and risk transfer measures; and, (4) investment strategies for transitioning to a low-carbon economy and innovation in alternative energy sources. Prior to joining The Geneva Association, for 10 years Dr. Golnaraghi was the Chief of the international program on Disaster Risk Reduction at the World Meteorological Organization, and between 1997-2004 she was CEO and President of Climate Risk Solutions. Dr. Golnaraghi holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Cornell University, an M.Sc. in Applied Physics and a Ph.D in Physical Oceanography from Harvard University. She serves in a number of international, national and industry advisory boards.
Dr. Susan J. Elliott
Susan Elliott is a health geographer whose primary area of research focuses on relationships between environment and health, broadly defined. Dr Elliott holds a PhD in medical geography and is a professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Management at the University of Waterloo and the Head of Geographies of Health in Place (GoHelP) lab and Adjunct Professor with the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH), a partner in much of the global water and sanitation research that she undertakes. . Her current research activities focus on three broad themes that relate health with built, socially constructed environment and physical environment. Susan’s research is characterized by a strong commitment to science-policy bridging. Dr Elliott is currently leading two large-scale research projects: i) Development of Canadian Food Allergy Strategy (CanFAST; linked to her leadership role in AllerGen, the National Centre of Excellence focused on gene-environment interactions as they affect allergic disease); and ii) Global Index of Wellbeing (GLOWING) -linked to the Canadian Index of Wellbeing. She published extensively in a range of health-related areas including the psychosocial impacts of environmental exposures, the geographies of health promotion, and individual and community level impacts of a range of environmental exposures. At UNU-INWEH she contributes to Water Without Borders programme and work on water-related health risks.
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The lines are blurring between what we refer to as ‘emerging risks’ versus ‘emerged’ ones. Not long ago, the more palpable indications of climate change and associated extreme weather events, were more erratic in nature and difficult to attribute. Yet in the summer of 2021, the frequency and severity of extreme weather events crossed a marked threshold, with record-breaking heatwaves in North America, Turkey, North Africa, the Arctic, and Finland, wildfires across North America, Western Europe, Turkey, Greece, and Siberia, flooding throughout Western Europe and China’s Henan province, and landslides in India. Death, violence, and destruction featured widely across all of these events, be it mortalities in the elderly from extended heatwaves, civil unrest from water shortages, or outright casualty from flood, fire, or storm.