Climate Equity Growing Pains, Adaptation Research and Why Universities Struggle to Offer Resilience Programs with Dr. Eric Chu of UC Davis

In episode 180 of America Adapts, Doug Parsons hosts Dr. Eric Chu. Eric shares the challenges of integrating climate curricula into universities and the functions of the UC Davis Climate Adaptation Research Center. We also discuss the importance of working with university students to determine their professional adaptation work needs. We take a closer look at Chapter 12 of the National Climate Assessment (NCA) and discuss why it isn't used more frequently by adaptation professionals. Furthermore, we explore the NCA's efforts to avoid replicating the IPCC report process. We discuss the growing pains that climate equity is going through as Eric highlights the need to define an idealized climate equity goal before we can realistically accomplish it. We also discuss the emptiness of much of the rhetoric surrounding climate equity discussions. Finally, we touch on the fact that adaptation research typically lags behind adaptation practice.

Topics Covered

Dr. Eric Chu
  • Challenges of bringing climate curricula into a university system.

  • UC Davis’ Climate Adaptation Research Center functions.
    Working with University students to help them determine their professional adaptation work needs.

  • Chapter 12 of the National Climate Assessment and why isn’t it used more by adaptation professionals?

  • NCA trying not to replicate the IPCC report process (by being too wordy).

  • Need to define an idealized climate equity goal before we can realistically accomplish it.

  • A lot of climate equity is empty rhetoric. Well intentioned practitioners have no clue what they want.

  • The superficial nature of climate equity discussions.
    Adaptation research typically is two steps behind adaptation practice

Transcripts for this episode (these are computer generated and contain errors).

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Links in this episode:
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Previous America Adapts Episodes Referenced in this Episode

Ep. 143: The Majestic Sky Islands in the Desert Southwest – Tales of Adaptation, Border Walls and the elusive Jaguar

Ep. 144:  Extreme Heat Governance and Regulation (or lack of it) with Dr. V. Kelly Turner at UCLA’s Luskin School


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Strategies to Address Climate Change Risk in Low- and Moderate-income Communities - Volume 14, Issue 1
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