Hixon Center Urban Conference

Hixon Center Urban Conference

Cities as Solutions to Climate Change: Perspectives from IPCC Authors

September 23, 2022

Watch the recorded event.

About the Conference

Conference Proceedings

The 9th annual Hixon Center Urban Conference was jointly convened by the Hixon Center for Urban Ecology and the Yale Planetary Solutions Project. The conference brings together researchers and practitioners focused on the potential impacts that cities have on climate change around the globe and features two vice-chairs and seven authors from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change. 

The conference was held in a hybrid format: streamed online and with limited in-person attendance at the Yale School of the Environment. The conference was free, open to the public and recorded.

Schedule of Events

8:30am

Registration and Continental Breakfast

9:00am

Welcome

Michael Crair, PhD, Yale University

Vice Provost for Research and William Ziegler III Professor of Neuroscience and Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Science; Vice Provost for Research, Office of the Provost
9:05am

Keynote Speaker

Ko Barrett, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Senior Advisor for Climate; IPCC Vice Chair
9:30am

Panel 1: Net-Zero Carbon Cities and Electrification: The Next Global Agenda

Angel Hsu, PhD, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Assistant Professor of Public Policy & Environment; IPCC Working Group III Contributing Author

Benjamin Sovacool, PhD, Boston University

Professor and Director, Institute for Sustainable Energy; IPCC Working Group III Lead Author

Şiir Kılkış, PhD, The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK)

Senior Researcher; IPCC Working Group III Lead Author

Narasimha Rao, PhD, Yale School of the Environment

Associate Professor of Energy Systems; IPCC Working Group III Contributing Author
Moderator
11:00am

Coffee Break

11:15am

Panel 2: Spatial Planning to Create Walkable Cities and Change Demand

Eric Masanet, PhD, University of California, Santa Barbara

Duncan and Suzanne Mellichamp Chair in Sustainability Science for Emerging Technologies; IPCC Working Group III Lead Author

Kevin Krizek, PhD, University of Colorado Boulder

Professor of Environmental Design

Jeff Speck, Speck & Associates

City Planner, Author

Karen Seto, PhD, Yale School of the Environment

Frederick C. Hixon Professor of Geography and Urbanization Science; IPCC Working Group III Coordinating Lead Author
12:45pm

Lunch Break

1:45pm

Keynote Speaker

Diana Ürge-Vorsatz, PhD, Central European University

Professor and Director of Center for Climate Change & Sustainable Energy Policy; IPCC Working Group III Regional Vice Chair
2:15pm

Panel 3: Carbon Uptake and Storage in Cities and Buildings

Galina Churkina, PhD, Technische Universität Berlin

Professor of Urban Ecosystem Sciences; IPCC Working Group III Contributing Author

Diana Ürge-Vorsatz, PhD, Central European University

Professor and Director of Center for Climate Change & Sustainable Energy Policy; IPCC Working Group III Regional Vice Chair

Clara Pregitzer, PhD, Natural Areas Conservancy

Deputy Director of Conservation Science; IPCC Working Group III Contributing Author

Peter Raymond, PhD, Yale School of the Environment

Senior Associate Dean of Research; Professor of Ecosystem Ecology
Moderator
3:45pm

Closing Remarks

Karen Seto, PhD, Yale School of the Environment

Frederick C. Hixon Professor of Geography and Urbanization Science; IPCC Working Group III Coordinating Lead Author
4:00pm to 5:00pm

Closing Reception