The informational meeting will be in a hybrid format – in-person in 117 Bessey Hall and on Zoom (info below) from 12:00 noon to 1:00pm on Thursday, 16 December.

https://unl.zoom.us/j/99949491560

Why: simply put, “climate change presents perhaps the most profound challenge ever to have confronted human social, political, and economic systems.”1 Beyond that challenge, the impacts of anthropogenic climate change and proposed methods to adapt and mitigate its effects present profound moral and ethical issues that must be addressed.

What: develop an over-arching organizational and support structure that would bring together people from across UNL in the social sciences, the humanities, and the physical and natural sciences to undertake research and creative activities with a goal of improving the resilience of human and natural systems in the face of impacts from climate change and variability.

How: promote opportunities for new collaborations to form among individuals, groups, and units within UNL – regardless of college or campus – that will lead to innovative research, creative activities, education, and outreach and result in the formation of new connections among these activities. This will enable UNL to become a leader in identifying vulnerabilities to climate change, developing ways of improving resilience through adaptation and mitigation, and engaging with stakeholders from academia, government, businesses, NGOs, and community organizations through collaboration and advocacy.

Who: UNL has tremendous capacity to address the full spectrum of climate change, to explore its impacts, and to develop strategies and methods to enhance the resilience of human and natural systems. The organizational structure proposed here would coalesce these activities into a focused, synergistic effort to best address this Grand Challenge.