Conferences: Beyond Kyoto: Addressing the Challenges of Climate Change

The international conference Beyond Kyoto: Addressing the Challenges of Climate Change takes place on 5–7 March 2009. Aarhus University is responsible for the conference, which focuses on the challenges and needs for innovative, sustainable solutions associated with climate changes. It is a matter of dialogue between the business community, researchers, NGOs and political decision-makers.

In order to deal with the climate challenges, the absolutely necessary starting point is the concept of sustainable development. Cross-sector collaboration is of crucial importance. Whenever the word sustainability is mentioned, one name springs to mind – Gro Harlem Brundtland. As is well-known, Dr. Brundtland was responsible for creating a global understanding of the necessity of sustainable political decisions via her UN report, Our Common Future, published in 1987. Dr. Brundtland is currently one of three United Nations Special Envoys on Climate Change. She is also a central figure for Beyond Kyoto in her capacity of one of the promoters of the Road to Copenhagen initiative, which focuses on the necessity for a greater involvement of private companies and the public sector in the climate solutions that will be achieved at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December 2009. She has therefore been selected to open the conference.

One of the other opening speakers of the conference is the US president-elect Obama’s nominee for Energy secretary, Professor Steven Chu. Since 2004, Dr. Chu has been director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and he shared the 1997 Nobel prize in physics. Dr. Chu has personal good relations to Aarhus University. His current research focus is on biological systems at the single molecule level, where he works with developing technologies that can counteract climate changes. http://projects.nytimes.com/44th_president/new_team

In addition to Dr. Brundtland and professor Chu, five speakers will address everyone attending the conference. One of these six speakers is the Danish Minister for Development Cooperation Ulla Tørnæs. Her address to the participants will be on the special problems caused by climate change in the developing countries.