Laurier expert alert: COP26 climate summit

Oct. 28, 2021
For Immediate Release

Waterloo – The 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference is being held Oct. 31 to Nov. 12 in Glasgow, Scotland. Wilfrid Laurier University has experts available to speak about climate change politics and policies in Canada and internationally.

Simon Dalby is a professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies who teaches at the Balsillie School of International Affairs and a senior fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI). He is an expert on governance, security and climate change. In particular, his research has focused on climate change and geopolitics, popular representations of climate change in the media, and the debate about the Anthropocene era and its implications for politics and policy. Dalby wrote recently about the impacts of climate change on security in the Arctic. Contact: sdalby@gmail.com

Christopher Lemieux, associate professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies and John McMurry Research Chair in Environmental Geography, is an expert on biodiversity conservation, protected areas, climate change, and the human health and well-being benefits associated with nature. He is available to speak about the role of parks and protected areas in fighting climate change. Contact: clemieux@wlu.ca

Philip Marsh is a professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies and Canada Research Chair in Cold Regions Water Science. He uses observation, modelling and remote sensing to understand and predict the impact of climate change on the freshwaters of arctic and subarctic North America. Read his article about the impacts of collapsing permafrost on lakes, ponds and streams in the Arctic. Contact: pmarsh@wlu.ca

Robert McLeman, a professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, is an expert on the human dimensions of climate change, including the relationship between the environment and human migration, community adaptation to climatic variability and change, and citizen participation in environmental science. He is available to speak about the impacts of climate change on global migration patterns and the impacts of environmental migration to North America. He can also speak about the goals and priorities of COP26; where countries, including Canada, have fallen short of past commitments; and why COP26 may be the most important climate change conference yet. Contact: rmcleman@wlu.ca

William Quinton, professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies and former director of Laurier’s Cold Regions Research Centre, is an expert on the hydrology of cold regions, permafrost and peatlands. He leads the Dehcho Collaborative on Permafrost and is the director of the Scotty Creek Research Station, south of Fort Simpson, NWT. The site is located in one of the most rapidly warming regions on Earth, giving researchers a unique opportunity to study the hydrological impacts of permafrost thaw. Contact: wquinton@wlu.ca

Miguel Sioui is an assistant professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies. He is an expert on Indigenous knowledges, Indigenous land-use and environmental management, particularly in the Northwest Territories, northern Quebec, and Yucatan, Mexico. Through his research, he is building connections between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities, researchers and governments in order to develop responsible, respectful and sustainable environmental management strategies, particularly around Indigenous-led climate change action policy. Contact: msioui@wlu.ca

Debora VanNijnatten, professor in the departments of Political Science and North American Studies, is an expert on environmental and climate change policy in North America; Canadian environmental politics; and transboundary cooperation on water management, especially of the Great Lakes. She is available to speak about Canada’s climate change commitments at COP26 and past climate changes conferences. Contact: dvannijnatten@wlu.ca