Ten Takeaway Messages from Dr. Robert Corell
Editors note: This is the first of three presenter’s perspectives on the 2021 Florida Climate Forecast Conference. Each perspective summarizes the presenter’s “Ten Takeaway Messages” from the conference. This perspective was penned by Dr. Corell, a faculty member of the University of Miami and a Director of the Climate Adaptation Center. During the Sarasota conference, he led a discussion of climate weather forecasting and attribution science, and delivered the closing presentation “Bringing it All Together: Causality, Attribution, Scaling and Action.” His “ten takeaways” from the conference are listed below. You can view video of Dr. Corell’s presentations, along with the rest of the conference program. on the Climate Adaptation Center YouTube channel.
Takeaway Message One: Incredible participation from four sectors of the communities surrounding Sarasota, (1) The Business/Industry Private Sector, (2) Leaders from governments and a broad cross-section of the communities, (3) The scientific, university and research communities, and after discussions and recognition of its importance, (4) the philanthropic and NGO Communities of the region.
Takeaway Message Two: An engaging and comprehensive presentation to Forecast Florida’s Future Climate by Bob Bunting, CEO, Climate Adaptation Center.
Takeaway Message Three: The serious discussion and Q&A about the future of the changing climate and its consequences for the socioeconomic and human well-being of society in Sarasota and the surrounding communities.
Takeaway Message Four: Overall, the broad range of speakers and their presentations and the resulting participation by those attending the conference focused on the opportunities to adapt and to address the foundational issues driving climate change and its consequences for the region.
Takeaway Message Five: The range of insights presented by all the speakers, such as the Possible Feedbacks Between Economic Impacts of Climate Warming by Dr. Matt Burgess, of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES)/University of Colorado, Boulder and the detailed presentation by Ellen Hughes-Cromwick, Senior Resident Fellow for Climate and Energy Program, Third Way; on Clean electrification, getting to Net-Zero, and pitfalls: Why we are not trading one problem for another.
Takeaway Message Six: The hosting of the Conference was outstanding and facillitated open and serious conversations among the participants themselves and with the speakers and panelists.
Takeaway Message Seven: The key speakers and others in the various panels, provided realistic pathways to counteract and adapt to climate change, such as the hopeful projections of the scales that are now possible in battery storage and the electrification of energy delivery systems.
Takeaway Message Eight: The Panels focused on the three major sectors from the communities in and surrounding Sarasota, gave new insights and refreshing perspectives and addressed these three questions:
(1) How will the government sector plan, begin and scale up mitigation efforts to minimize the worst impacts of climate warming?
(2) How will the academic sector target new initiatives to expand our knowledge of climate and warming impacts; train the new workforce for the climate economy; and assist the government and private sectors in mitigation actions?
(3) How will the financial industry drive the unprecedented level of investment needed to finance climate warming mitigation and to enhance adaptation efforts — both globally and regionally?
The panel presentations, together with Q&A from the participants, gave new insights that the pathways forward provide realistic and hopeful perspectives.
Takeaway Message Nine: The concluding panel addressed this question: How will all three sectors work together to create new connections, more frequent collaborations and regional joint action for climate adaptation and mitigation? This led to the questions about how to build the collaborative mechanisms and a more overall integrated approach to adaptation strategies and actions. In many ways, the panel gave all of us the challenge and hope that there are ways to envision a hopeful tomorrow.
Takeaway Message Ten: The essential takeaway is that the three communities noted above have a fourth community at the table, the philanthropic community. Buttressed by NGOs, the philanthropic community brings an important dimension to the Climate Adaptation Center. Together, these four communities could form a “CAC Action Forum.”
Overall, The 2021 Florida Climate Forecast Conference was rich in content and “hopefulness” for our collective well-being and for an acceptable future for the generations to come.