DRS Makes Moral Case for Saving Planet
At an event held on Nov. 16, academics from the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University came together with colleagues and the community to discuss the ethical implications of taking action to combat climate change.
“The Moral Case for Saving the Planet: Regional Perspectives” was a joint effort by BU Global Programs and the Division of Regional Studies (DRS), which includes the African Studies Center, the Center for the Study of Europe, the Center for the Study of Asia, the Latin American Studies Program, the Institute on Culture, Religion and World Affairs, the Institute for the Study of Muslim Societies and Civilizations, and the Middle East and North Africa Studies Program.
The event featured a panel discussion examining the perspectives of various parts of the world on the problems and potential interventions to climate change. Henrik Selin, Director of Curricular Innovation for the Pardee School, spoke on the perspective of Europe.
“Europe can of course do more to halt climate change, but by the standards of the developed world it is doing well,” Selin said. “Europe contains some of the most secular regions of the world, and they have succeeded in making climate change a moral issue based on the common good.”
Joining Selin was Pardee School Dean Adil Najam, who spoke on the perspective of the global South; as well as BU colleagues James McCann and Robert Weller. The event was moderated by Robert Hefner, Director of the Institute on Culture, Religion and World Affairs.
The event was video recorded and attended by a sizable crowd at the BU Castle. It was also featured as a covered event by the Boston University student newspaper The Daily Free Press.
From the text of the article “Experts Explore Ties of Religion, Terrorism to Climate Change Debate:”
Amanda Miller, the managing director of BU Global Programs, said students can benefit from a panel with diverse voices on climate change.
“For the past three years, Global Programs has hosted events to bring global conversations and discuss bigger topics.” Miller said. “The nice thing about this panel discussion is they have regional experts, so it’s not just from one perspective but from a global point of view, which is going to make the conversation very interesting.”
The article was written by Alex Li. You can read the entire article here.
Selin conducts research and teaches classes on global and regional politics and policy making on environment and sustainable development. His most recent book is EU and Environmental Governance, by Routledge Press, and is also the author of Global Governance of Hazardous Chemicals: Challenges of Multilevel Management by MIT Press. Learn more about him here.
Najam is also a Professor of International Relations and of Earth and Environment. Earlier, he served as Vice Chancellor of the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) in Lahore, Pakistan (2011-13) and as the Director of the Boston University Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future (2007-11). Learn more about him here.
Hefner is professor of anthropology and director of the Institute on Culture, Religion, and World Affairs (CURA) at Boston University. He is former president of the Association for Asian Studies. Learn more about him here.