On the 28th March 2024, Sustainable Futures held the third 2024 iteration of their monthly online seminar series. In this edition, climate resilience in grassroot economies and historical debates in climate atmospheric data were discussed. Chaired by Dr Stephen Lowe, the seminar included two talks from Dr Nourhan Heysham and Dr Robert Naylor, both researchers at The University of Manchester.

The first presentation was provided by Dr Nourhan Heysham, Post-doctoral Research Associate in the School of Environment, Education and Development. The talk was titled 'Investigating Climate Resilience of Social Capital Networks in Grassroot Economies'. Read the talk abstract here:

"For this research, the value of Social Capital surpasses economic significance, and steps into the day-to-day livelihoods of a semi-rural industrial community of MSMEs in the Global South; one facing the threat of sea level rise. The work explores the link of social capital networks to urban patterns in the city, highlighting the value of the grassroot economy of the heritage craft of furniture-making in Damietta, Egypt. The work has evolved through several years of investigation and team expertise looking at 1. Network resilience analysis, 2. Conservation of heritage crafts at risk, and 3. Global market and policy outreach for local crafts at risk. This included doctoral research and a £200k AHRC-funded Climate Urgency Project involving key UK and Egyptian stakeholders in the research and practice."

After a Q&A session wherein attendees could ask any questions to Dr Heysham, the second presentation of the day was next.

Dr Robert Naylor, Lecturer at the Centre for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine, presented 'Sustainable Pasts?: The Value of History in Current Debates on Commercial Atmospheric Data'. Read the abstract below:

"Since the 1990s, the private meteorological applications industry has rapidly grown into a multi-billion dollar sector, and is increasingly being embraced by the World Meteorological Organization. Advocates for the sector argue that as public funding for atmospheric data becomes restricted, the private sector should step in to help combat the effects of climate change. Critics of the sector have questioned the “double growth” of the industry and damages from weather events, whether the evaluation mechanisms within the sector promote better decision-making, and the affordability of the services on offer for the world’s poorest and most vulnerable..."

"One of the problems in evaluating these arguments is limited access to analyse commercially-sensitive uses of weather and climate information within industry. This problem of access can be ameliorated by examining historical case studies with plentiful archival material. I present the case studies of the UK electricity, gas, and water industries since the Second World War, and argue that, when it comes to helping populations during adverse climate events, what matters is not so much the quality or quantity of atmospheric information, but how it is used."

Another live Q&A session involving attendees of the seminar followed, after which the event was soon wrapped up.

If you missed the event, you can watch it back here:

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