Najam Keynotes VIDC/IIASA Event on Climate and Displacement
On November 4, 2021, Adil Najam, Dean of the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University, spoke during an event hosted by the Vienna Institute for International Dialogue and Cooperation (VIDC) and the International Institute for Applied System Analysis (IIASA) exploring how climate change affects conflicts and displacement in the Global South.
The event, titled “Climate crisis boosts displacement,” featured Najam and fellow global experts Raya Muttarak, Program Director of the IIASA Population and Just Societies Program and Acting Research Group Leader of the Migration and Sustainable Development (MIG) research group; and Jane Linekar, 4Mi Global Coordinator at the Mixed Migration Centre.
In his remarks, Najam emphasized that climate change is no longer a future issue but one that is actively causing global harm, particularly to those in the Global South. He went on to express disappointment with COP26 and climate activists whose increased interest and awareness of the climate crises have not translated to actionable change, noting that aspiration is not a replacement for actions and neither is anger. Najam also pointed out that while climate has become more of an individual issue, real concern about the poorest, most impacted communities has also gone down.
A recording of the event can be viewed below.
On the following day, Najam participated in a workshop organized by VIDC and the Austrian Development Agency to look at policy measures in Europe to better deal with climate and migration challenges. The full details of the workshop can be viewed on VIDC’s website.
Adil Najam is a global public policy expert who also served as the Vice-Chancellor of the Lahore University of Management Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan. He is the Inaugural Dean of the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University and was the former Vice-Chancellor of the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS). His research focuses on issues of global public policy, especially those related to global climate change, South Asia, Muslim countries, environment and development, and human development. Read more about Dean Najam on his faculty profile.