Nobel Laureate to train professionals to plan for and adapt to climate change
Dr. Adam Fenech, who was awarded the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize as a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, comes to UPEI next week to train professionals in the latest techniques to plan for and adapt to climate change.
Dr. Fenech is one of three teachers of a unique course, designed to give professionals and students access to the latest tools to adjust to climate change. The Applied Climate Change Program runs August 8-12 at the University of Prince Edward Island. Dr. Fenech and his colleague, Dr. Neil Comer, have presented this program many times over the past three years, in places such as China and Panama.
'We need to empower planners and people who need this information,' said Dr. Fenech. 'They need to understand our climate past, and have a clear indication of what challenges lie ahead because of climate change, whether they be in protected habitat and land, human health, agriculture, or any number of other areas.'
Students of the course will take home practical skills: (1) steps to follow that have been assigned by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to conduct a climate change impact assessment; (2) access to quality assurance and control of, database management of, and statistical analysis techniques for, climate data; (3) scenario preparation of future climate change through ensemble and validation techniques; and (4) watershed management (drought, storm-water management, flooding, source-water protection, planning, integrated watershed management).
'We'll be able to share some of our expertise as climate researchers, and to introduce participants to certain tools,' said Dr. Fenech. 'There are free websites available to get free observations of climate data, and Environment Canada has built sites that allow users to examine scenarios for future climate change, so planners can adapt.'
For more information on the Applied Climate Change Program, or to register to participate, visit lifelonglearning.upei.ca
