The topic of Dr. Delli Priscoli’s keynote was "Water Investments: Fundamental Social Means for Adapting to Climate Change and building Resilience in our Cities". Dr. Delli Priscoli made a public policy ethical reflection and analytical reflections, followed by lessons/recommendations for building resilience.
“Today most of the reasons world leaders and climate change community cite as to why we should be concerned with climate changes deal with impacts of water events such as sea level rise, floods, drought, tsunamis and more. Water resources investments are at the heart of adapting to climate change. Coastal areas will be most vulnerable on all scenarios due to sea level rises, ground subsidence and storm surges. At the same time, mega cities, mostly near the sea, continue to grow and most of the people on the planet will be living in mega cities near the coast. But: are we raising fears and anxieties over impacts of projected changes in climate while inadvertently denying means to cope with these impacts? What should be done? What levels of protection should we seek? How will we pay? Can we realistically talk of relocating cities?” asked Dr. Delli Priscoli.
This full statement at the event is available in this speech draft.