‘OUR COMMON FUTURE UNDER CLIMATE CHANGE’

UNESCO INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCE

 PARIS

6^th-10^th July 2015

Lavinia Ioana Udrea

Sessional Teacher in the School of Politics, International Relations and Philosophy

A Keele-funded Philosophy PhD Candidate

Keele University

United Kingdom

Between July and August 2014, I was a PhD Exchange Research Fellow at the Centre for Climate Change and Sustainability Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences in Mumbai, India. I read both my BA Philosophy and MA Applied Ethics in Society, Business, and Organisations at the University of Bucharest, Romania. In 2010, I was awarded the ERASMUS Student Scholarship to study at Complutense University of Madrid, and later that year I was offered the Professional Ethics - Visiting Student Scholarship from Babes-Bolyai University.

My research focuses on developing an effective educational strategy to cultivate moral responsibility towards nature, while studying the need for a motivational change in environmental protection initiatives. My intuition is that there is a shared morality that can motivate people to adopt a pro-environmental behaviour in the long term. I therefore seek to identify and analyse human behaviour problems that address social challenges such as sustainability, intergenerational justice, and security. My current study concerns the motivational factors that influence people’s everyday behaviour and to provide a suitable research methodology in environmental education for a sustainable world.

I am interested in using my theories in a practical environment, in order to discover how philosophers can help people gain a sense of stewardship for preserving nature, and contribute to finding a solution to the challenging problems of real world relevance.

The UNESCO International Scientific Conference “Our Common Future under Climate Change” was the largest gathering of global change scientists leading up to the 2015 (“Conference of the Parties” - COP21) Climate Conference in Paris. Up to 1,500 delegates came in July 2015 at the conference venue, UNESCO headquarters, downtown Paris.

This four-day conference was the largest forum for the scientific community to come together ahead of the 21st United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of the Parties (COP21), which has been hosted by France in December 2015 (“Paris Climat 2015”). Building on the results of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 5th Assessment Report (AR5), the Conference addressed key issues concerning climate change in the broader context of global change. It offered an opportunity to discuss solutions for both mitigation and adaptation issues.

The conference was organized under the umbrella of UNESCO, International Council for Science (ICSU), Future Earth Initiative, and major French research institutions, with the support of the French Government.

During the International Scientific Conference, I had the pleasure to give two presentations (at UNESCO and at Pierre and Marie Curie University, Paris) about my current research and tried to answer the following question ‘Does the public policy for influencing pro-environmental behaviour in the developed countries take into account people’s common future under climate change?’. The paper was considered relevant by the Conference’ Scientific Committee which was chaired by Professor Chris Field, Co-Chair of IPCC Working Group II, founding director of the Carnegie Institution's Department of Global Ecology, Professor of Biology and Environmental Earth System Science at Stanford University, and Faculty Director of Stanford's Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve, in order to be part of Behavioural Change Parallel Session hold on Day 3: Responding to Climate Change Challenges.

In my presentation, I analysed and discussed the UK governmental approaches to influence people adopt a pro-environmental behaviour pursuing them to change their unsustainable lifestyle using financial incentives, nudging and population segmentation.

During the UNESCO International Scientific Conference, I also had the opportunity to network with leading academics from all over the world and promote my work in order to maximise my chances to provide outstanding research. My participation at the UNESCO International Scientific Conference contributed to gaining important knowledge about climate governance, environmental political theories and analyse discourses used by policy - makers, and citizens when engaging in public debate on environmental issues at all levels of global politics and discuss the actions of environmental activists in all parts of the world.

I feel that the Santander Travel Bursary offered by Keele University helped me undertake a once-in-a-life-time research activity which was very relevant for my professional development at Keele and future academic career. Moreover, I had been given the opportunity to represent Keele University to the outside world and promote our exciting approach to higher education, beautiful campus, strong community spirit and excellent student life.

In conclusion, I believe that my participation at UNESCO International Scientific Conference was a step further towards achieving international standards of excellence and becoming a specialist in my field of research.