UCL Lunch Hour Lecture | Is climate change increasing disasters?

We hear so much about human-caused climate change threatening our lives. Often, any disaster including conflict is linked to climate change. Without doubt, we are changing the world’s climate quickly and substantively.

Many disasters, though, are much more a result of other human decisions about where people live, or are forced to live, and the options they have, or do not have, for helping themselves to avoid calamity. In so many situations, disasters could be avoided, no matter what the climate is doing or what we are doing to the climate.

In other instances, human-caused climate change is leading to disasters with the only disaster prevention option being for us to stop changing the climate. 

This talk explores the differences and nuances, demonstrating how much we could do to avoid disasters, including conflict, while also stopping human-caused climate change.

About the speaker

Ilan Kelman
Professor of Disasters and Health at UCL Institute for Risk & Disaster Reduction

Ilan Kelman is Professor of Disasters and Health at University College London, England and a Professor II at the University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway. His overall research interest is linking disasters and health, integrating climate change into both. 

Three main areas are: 

• disaster diplomacy and health diplomacy.
• island sustainability involving safe and healthy communities in isolated locations.
• risk education for health and disasters. 

His X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram handle is @IlanKelman.