Sarah Ladislaw, at PDAA’s 11 April 2016 lunch program on the climate change accord. (A. Kotok)
(16 March 2016, updated 12 April 2016) In celebration of Earth Day 2016, PDAA hosted a discussion with two experts on the agreement reached by nearly 200 nations at the historic December 2015 Paris summit that will commit nearly every nation to lowering plant-warming greenhouse gases. The discussion took place at the DACOR-Bacon House, 1801 F Street NW in Washington, D.C. on Monday, April 11.
The Paris Accord, as good as it is, only cuts the emission of greenhouse gases by half as much as is needed to forestall the 2 degrees Celsius increase in atmospheric temperatures that scientists warn could have a devastating effect – rising sea levels, droughts, water shortages, among others — on our planet. Many experts believe that the Paris Accord should be viewed as just a framework for additional measures that will be required to set the earth on a more sustainable path.
The two speakers addressed where we are headed globally in addressing climate change, what are the next steps after Paris, and what needs to be done in terms of outreach to help convince publics of the importance of moving rapidly to mitigate the effects of decades of policies that failed to integrate sound environmental science.
Our first speaker, Tim Lattimer, acting director of the State Department’s Office of Global Change in the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, served as part of the negotiating team in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. He is a career foreign service officer who most recently served in Costa Rica as the Regional Environmental Officer for Central America and the Caribbean. Prior to joining the Foreign Service in 1994, Lattimer was an environmental planner and project manager for 10 years in Southern California. He holds a B.A. in Economics and an M.S. in Environmental Studies from California State University.
Tim Lattimer, at PDAA’s 11 April 2016 lunch program on the climate change accord. (A. Kotok)
Sarah Ladislaw, director and senior fellow of the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Energy and National Security Program, offered an independent view. An author and expert on the geopolitics of energy, energy security and climate change, Ladislaw formerly worked in the Office of the Americas in the Department of Energy’s Office of Policy and International Affairs. Ladislaw is frequently called on to advise policymakers, testify before Congress, speak as an expert commentator before the press, and advise companies. Ladislaw received her B.A. and M.A. in international affairs/international security from the George Washington University as part of the Presidential Administrative Fellows Program.
This PDAA lunch program will be held from 12 noon to 2 p.m., on Monday, April 11 at DACOR-Bacon House, 1801 F Street NW, Washington, D.C. Reservations are $35 for members and $42 for non-members. The deadline for reservations is extended to Thursday, April 7.
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