IUSSP Panel at the TSITICA conferenceUCT Graduate School of Business, Cape Town, South Africa, 7-8 March 2023
In March 2023, the Transforming Social Inequalities Through Inclusive Climate Action (TSITICA) project of the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA) hosted a symposium on Climate Change and Inequalities. The findings of a multiyear collaborative research project, which aimed to address the nexus between climate change, sustainable livelihoods and multidimensional poverty and inequality were showcased alongside cognate research being undertaken elsewhere, especially in the global South. The collective goal was to take stock of barriers and progress in ensuring that climate actions can deliberately be targeted to improve livelihoods and lead to equitable benefits for the most vulnerable and especially women and children. The symposium created a platform for sharing research on climate justice and equitable transitions towards sustainable development. Research papers largely covered studies in the Global South: Burundi, India, Indonesia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa, while panellists and discussants were drawn from different universities from south and north of the equator.
Key to these nuanced conversations were speakers from the African Climate Foundation, African Group of Negotiators, Kenya; EU Africa-EU Energy Partnership; Kenya National Bureau of Statistics; the Kenya Forest Service; the Population Reference Bureau; the South African Biodiversity Institute; Statistics South Africa; South Africa’s Presidential Climate Commission; and Trade and Industrial Policy Strategies.
Twenty research posters covering India, Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa were presented. Thanks to support from the Population Reference Bureau (PRB) to the African Centre of Excellence for Inequality Research (ACEIR), the IUSSP Scientific Panel on Population, Inequality and Climate Change was able to fund three early career researchers to present at the symposium: Kacho Amir Khan from the International Institute for Population Sciences in Mumbai shared a poster on climate change and water scarcity in the cold desert of Ladakh, India; Jacqueline Njambi Kibe Kamau from the University of Nairobi in Kenya spoke on policy interventions for inclusive climate governance regimes, including how to reduce gender-based inequalities; and Prosper Turimubumwe from the University of Burundi shared his research on how rural settlers can rebuild their livelihoods after climate shocks.
During a plenary panel session focused on climate change, inequality, and development, which served as a platform for discussing global climate challenges and their connections to socioeconomic inequality and development within the context of public policy and programming, Rachel Yavinsky, Senior Policy Advisor at the Population Reference Bureau (PRB) played a contributing role.
The primary focus of the session was to emphasise the socioeconomic and demographic factors that drive and result from climate change and environmental damage. Rachel Yavinsky's participation in this panel formed part of a diverse array of perspectives, experiences, and viewpoints regarding the priorities facing low- and middle-income countries as they address environmental concerns, equity, and climate change adaptation. The dynamic exchange of ideas contributed to a better understanding of how research on the interplay between inequality and climate change could shape policy discussions and drive action.
The TSITICA project is in the final stages of completing a series of research papers.
View the symposium programme and recordings of the symposium’s seven plenaries on:
TSITICA is a collaborative, multi-country and multidisciplinary research project of ACEIR and ARUA-CD in partnership with the universities of Ghana, Nairobi, Cape Town, Bristol, East Anglia and Manchester and the London School of Economics. The support of the African Research Universities Alliance and UK Research and Innovation is gratefully acknowledged. |