Minimizing Georgia’s Risks. Maximizing Georgia’s Future.
November 7-8, 2019 | Emory Conference Center Hotel | Atlanta, GA
Hosted by the Georgia Climate Project, the 2019 Georgia Climate Conference brought together more than 430 leaders and experts from the public, private, non-profit, and academic sectors to collaborate, raise awareness of work across the state, highlight progress, and identify opportunities to do more.
Ray C. Anderson Foundation
Emory University
Regions Bank
UGA Georgia Initiative for Climate and Society The Nature Conservancy
GreenPrint Turner Foundation
Georgia Department of Natural Resources
Agnes Scott College Columbus State University Georgia Interfaith Power and Light Georgia State University Georgia Southern University Proterra Spelman College University of North Georgia
What do Georgians think about climate change and key solutions to reduce emissions and respond to climate impacts here at home? This session explores several efforts to begin answering that question and track how opinions are changing over time.
In recent years, the United States has weathered a series of major natural disasters that have devastated communities and cost billions of dollars in damage. Here in Georgia, Hurricanes Irma and Michael reminded us that we must continue to be prepared. This session brings together the agencies and organizations that responded to these disasters to explore lessons learned from those responses and how we can strengthen our resilience to future disasters.
How is climate change impacting infrastructure in Georgia’s coastal communities and how are communities managing these risks? What are the legal and practical considerations as communities explore whether to upgrade, maintain, or in some cases abandon existing infrastructure? This session will look in particular at coastal roads, onsite wastewater treatment systems, and a new sea level sensor network.
Leaders in Georgia are developing innovative strategies for managing extreme water events, including droughts and floods. This session discusses efforts to better map flooding risks and highlights efforts to use green infrastructure to manage too much and too little water.
How will Georgia’s ecosystems be impacted by a changing climate? This session looks across a range of ecosystem types, including freshwater, terrestrial, and marine.
This session provides an overview of what it will take to get to a carbon neutral Georgia, using the Georgia Drawdown Project as a framework. Panelists will provide an overview of the Georgia Drawdown Project and share emissions reduction solutions in the following areas: electricity, transportation, built environment and materials, food, and land use. Panelists will also discuss efforts to look at “beyond carbon” at the equity, economic development, and health benefits of these solutions.
How does a changing climate impact vulnerable and disadvantaged communities? How can climate solutions – either adapting to climate impacts or reducing emissions – benefit these communities? This session will feature an exchange of ideas on impacts and solutions and an open discussion on how to move forward on climate, equity, and justice.
This session highlights cities and communities across Georgia that have launched innovative policies and programs to accelerate deployment of renewables and stimulate local economic activity.
This session will provide an overview of historic and future projections for flooding and sea level rise in coastal Georgia as well as innovative ideas for managing these risks, such as green infrastructure projects. The session will explore common concerns and divergent opinions on the risks of sea level rise and how we as a state should respond.
Across Georgia, communities are grappling with how to prepare for and respond to the impacts of a changing climate. This session provides examples of resilience planning across the state.
This session will provide an overview of historic and future projections for flooding and sea level rise in coastal Georgia as well as innovative ideas for managing these risks, such as green infrastructure projects. The session will explore common concerns and divergent opinions on the risks of sea level rise and how we as a state should respond.
Georgia’s entrepreneurs and innovators are designing new solutions to address and respond to a changing climate. This panel highlights innovations from across the state in sectors ranging from transportation to agriculture to food waste.
This session explores how Georgia’s farm and forestry land is impacted by climate change. Panelists will share innovative practices for both coping with a changing climate and reducing emissions.
This session provides an overview of the health impacts associated with climate change, with a particular focus on Georgia-specific impacts and ongoing research. This includes the impact of extreme heat and pollen exposure on children, military personnel, and pregnant women.
As extreme water events become frequent, leaders in Georgia are making plans to address changing needs and risks at local, regional and state scales.
At colleges and universities across the state, faculty, staff, and students are studying climate change and taking practical steps to reduce emissions and build resilience to climate impacts.
This session will provide an overview of the state of Georgia’s coastal marshes, why this ecosystem is so important, and how it might be impacted by climate change. Panelists will focus on advances in salt marsh research that enable coastal communities to address key challenges and to develop management strategies.
This session provides an overview of the opportunities and challenges of increasing electric vehicles adoption in Georgia.