Global Environmental Measurement & Monitoring (GEMM) Network Meeting: Strathclyde GEMM Centre Launch

Hosted by the University of Strathclyde, The Optical Society (OSA) and the Stanford Photonics Research Center, we are delighted to invite you to this event, which will formally launch the Global Environmental Monitoring and Measurement (GEMM) Centre at the University of Strathclyde on 13 September 2019. The creation of this first GEMM Centre follows on from the inaugural announcement of the global GEMM network initiative at Stanford University in September 2018 as part of the Global Climate Action Summit. The consequences of global environmental change can no longer be ignored, with impacts beginning to be exerted on society, economic activities and national security. Intensifying climatic extremes such as droughts, temperatures (and associated disasters such as wildfires), floods and storms have had a demonstrable impact on life, national infrastructure, damage costs and economic outputs. International governments have increasingly collaborated to produce legally binding frameworks that aim to encourage emission reductions and adaptation to climate change that is already here or pending. Through the adoption of frameworks like the Paris Agreement (2015), international governments have a basis for cooperating to tackle our greatest grand challenge facing humanity. Yet it is at the regional level, where the impacts of climate change are most directly felt and that our understanding of the mechanisms of climate change remain most uncertain. As part of our centre’s launch, there will be a workshop that brings together high-level delegates from academia, government and policy, industry and environmental regulation to discuss how environmental science can inform government leaders and how government policy needs can help focus technological innovation and scientific study. It will feature presentations from key members of the Scottish, UK and international policy and business community, as well as academics and engineers and technological firms involved in environmental monitoring. The workshop will focus on regional and international policies, economics, technologies and research that shape the need for environmental measurement and monitoring. Featuring three main topical sessions, with two keynote speakers (including a minister from the Scottish Government) throughout the day, the sessions will address Designing Climate Policy Frameworks, Economic Challenges and Opportunities from Policy Action, and Enabling Technology to aid in the delivery of policy/economic objectives (full schedule to follow) and include the following objectives: Assess the policy landscape of climate change in Scotland, with comparisons to international regional climate policies Discuss the key challenges and opportunities that face sub-national economies as a consequence of climate change; Engage with technology firms at the heart of designing and deploying environmental measurement and monitoring technologies, and connect these firms with policy developers and businesses; Develop a network of academic, policy, regulatory and business stakeholders that will work together to address the consequences of regional climate change and catalyze research efforts to tackle these impacts via collaborative research partnerships.