Professor Jon Barnett - Inaugural Professorial Lecture on 'Climate Change and Migration from the South Pacific'
Date: Thursday 14 April 2011 Download the lecture Time: 5.30-6.30pm Venue: Theatre 1, 207 Bouverie St Carlton (building 250), Parkville Map (reference O18) Enquiries: Lyn Spokes
It is often said that climate change imperils the small islands of the Pacific Ocean, and will drive waves of refugees towards Australia. This lecture presents and then interrogates this popular narrative about climate change and migration from the Pacific Islands. It draws on a range of theories and evidence to make sense of the issue, arguing that while much of the popular narrative is theoretically and empirically unsubstantiated, there are nevertheless some reasons for concern. A more constructive way of understanding the issue is offered, and some ways forward for Australian policy are proposed.
Biography
Jon is a political geographer whose research investigates the impacts of and responses to environmental change on social systems, with a focus on risks to human security, hunger, conflict, and water stress. He has been conducting research on the social and institutional dimensions of vulnerability and adaptation to climate change since 2000. This has included field based research in the South Pacific, China, and Timor-Leste.
Jon is host convenor of the research network on the social, economic and institutional dimensions of climate change, which is part of the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility.
Jon is a Lead Author for the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (Working Group II, Chapter 12), the Executive Editor of the adaptation domain of Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews Climate Change, and is on the editorial board of Global Environmental Change.