CE Seminar: Sustainability and Climate Change: Introduction to Planning and Implementation

Title:  Sustainability and Climate Change: Introduction to Planning and Implementation
Abstract: Since the Rio Summit of 1992, Integrated planning for, and implementation of, national sustainable development strategies have remained challenging. Member States noted this challenge by recognizing in the Rio+20 Outcome Document the inadequacy of sector-based strategies, and called for “holistic and integrated approaches to sustainable development” and the “need for more coherent and integrated planning and decision-making at the national … level”. Dr. Thomsen’s experience over the last two decades has demonstrated the inadequacy of sectorial and silo-based planning approaches to address complex global and national sustainable development challenges whose interdependencies and inter-linkages transcend individual sectors and national borders. National governments are now faced with developing and implementing strategies, plans and policies that target systemic transformation and stabilization. This demands the acknowledgement and a better understanding of the dynamic interdependence and interconnectedness of numerous complex systems and sub-systems — such as water, energy and ecosystems — and the impacts and changes they will undergo from various future threats, including climate change. Dr. Thomsen’s seminar will present a brief overview on Integrated Approaches to Sustainable Development Planning and Implementation and to begin to explore how these impacts can be managed by adjusting natural or human systems in anticipation of or response to a changing environment in a way that effectively uses beneficial opportunities or reduces negative effects. Adapting to climate change is a complex, long term process that requires people work together across organizations and should include a diverse array of internal and external stakeholders.
Bio – Dr. Keith Thomsen is an Environmental Engineering with 30 years of international experience in environmental engineering, renewable energy and sustainability. He holds a Bachelor of Science in General Engineering from Oregon State University, a Masters of Business Administration from California State University Fresno, and a doctorate in Environmental Science and Engineering from UCLA.  He has directed or managed more than 200 major projects with capital budgets exceeding $50 million throughout the United States and internationally.  His work has included research, design and development of applied biotechnologies for the collection, treatment, processing and conversion of organic wastes into bioenergy, bioproducts and resource recovery, as well as substantial work in the area of improving the sustainability of built environment. Most recently, he has been working on applied research and development of atmospheric processes including a portable multiple-wavelength differential absorption LIDAR (DIAL) system to provide real-time detection and characterization of specific chemical emissions.