Climate Change Think Tank: beyond diagnosis, climate change as a leadership challenge

 

On Monday 11 March 2013 the Cape Town Local Interaction Platform, together with the Western Cape Government, will convene a group of 30 key leaders from across government, academia, business, industry and civil society to launch the second phase of the ‘Climate Change Think Tank’.

This is a tri-annual forum in which to interrogate new ideas and seek innovative solutions to the serious climate-related challenges facing our region, such as water scarcity, storm damages and the high carbon intensity of our electricity.

The role of leadership

This first meeting focuses on the role of leadership in addressing climate change in the Western Cape. It is hosted by the Premier of the Western Cape, facilitated by Peter Willis of the Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership and will include a contribution from Jorgen Randers, Professor of Climate Strategy at the Norwegian Business School, co-author of the influential ‘Limits to Growth’ (1972) report and recent follow up study titled ‘2052: A Global Forecast for the Next Forty Years’. The event is by invitation only but key points from the deliberations will be documented and made available online after the event.

Book Climate change at the City Scale

The Climate Change Think Tank is chaired by Professor Mark New, UCT’s Pro Vice-Chancellor and Director of the African Climate and Development Initiative, and supported by University of Cape Town’s African Centre for Cities and Mistra Urban Futures, with contributions from the City of Cape Town and the Western Cape Government. Phase 1 of the Climate Change Think Tank culminated in a book, entitled ’Climate change at the City Scale: Impacts, mitigation and adaptation in Cape Town’, edited by Anton Cartwright, Susan Parnell, Gregg Oelofse and Sarah Ward.