Inaugural Address from the President of IAFOR: Climate Change Challenges and International, Intercultural and Interdisciplinary Perspective

Climate change is one of the most difficult negative externalities at a global scale. While the benefits of climate mitigation are globally shared, mitigation costs need to be borne in each country, leading to the "free rider" problem.

Developed countries are pushing for increasingly ambitious mitigation targets, while developing countries demand more financial assistance. Developed countries give the highest priority to climate action; developing countries prioritise zero poverty, zero hunger, good health, education, and decent jobs as more urgent issues.

In addition to the inherent rift between the global north and south, the "new Cold War" emerging from the Ukraine War is pushing the world back to multi-polar power politics.

We need to examine climate change from the perspective of broader sustainable development. This calls for an interdisciplinary approach, addressing climate change not only from energy and climate perspectives but also many other aspects such as legal, social, and historical.

The purpose of this conference is to bring nations, cultures, disciplines, ideas, and people together, which is also relevant to global climate issues since mutual understanding and respect for different cultural, social, and national circumstances are prerequisites for finding solutions.

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Posted by IAFOR