The Mediterranean City: A Conference on Climate Change Adaptation

Mediterranean-climate cities to converge on Los Angeles to tackle climate change adaptation

How is your city preparing to deal with the impacts of climate change? That is the question being framed at 2012’s The Mediterranean City: A Conference on Climate Change Adaptation, to be held June 25-27 in downtown Los Angeles, organized by Council for Watershed Health. Leaders from five Mediterranean regions of the world will come together to focus specifically on adaptation, which seeks to reduce the vulnerability of natural and human systems to the effects of climate change.

The conference will initiate an ongoing collaboration of Mediterranean cities working together to solve the mutual problem of adapting to an uncertain climate. In addition, the conference aims to create new and strengthen existing ties among the decision-makers, business leaders and academics, building bridges across disciplines.

Cities of the Future author Paul Brown will be the keynote speaker at the conference. Other invited speakers include: Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai, California Public Utility Commissioner Mike Peevey, Yarqon River Authority (Israel) Executive Director David Pargament, Mayor Paddi Creevey, City of Madurah (Australia) and many more.

On June 25 and 26, an invited group of special guests will come together for The Mediterranean City Conference & Climate Change Consortium. During this time, small working groups of invited scientists, planners, engineers, resource managers, and policy makers will work collaboratively toward sharing solutions and suggest collaborative steps forward.

• Additional panelist needed for June 26th lunch session "Media as a Partner in Development," along with Randa Fouad, President, Arab Media Forum for Environment and Development.

On June 27, The Mediterranean City Conference welcomes the general public to hear from the working groups, as they present their shared findings and ideas for the future.

Conference Themes

• Water: Resilient Water Management Strategies for a Changing Climate
• Energy: Transitioning to an Energy Efficient and Low Carbon Future
• Biodiversity and Open Space: Building an Ecological City
• The Built Environment: Designing Healthier Communities
• Public Health: Preparing People for Their Future
• Governance: Rethinking Boundaries
  

More information.