News Releases

Professor Mycoo addresses the ‘Urgency for Climate Action’ if 1.5°C is surpassed

For Release Upon Receipt - February 27, 2023

St. Augustine


 

 Professor Michelle Mycoo, Professor of Urban and Regional Planning, The UWI St Augustine Campus

 

ST. AUGUSTINE, Trinidad and Tobago. Monday, 27 February 2023–Caribbean Small Island Developing States on the Frontline: The Urgency for Climate Action, a Professorial Inaugural Lecture featuring Professor Michelle Mycoo, Professor of Urban and Regional Planning on Wednesday 01st March, 2023 - the first woman in 60 years to be elevated to the rank of Professor in the Faculty of Engineering at The University of the West Indies.

 The Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change notes that any further delay in concerted global action on climate change impact will miss the brief, rapidly closing window to secure a liveable future. This is a serious threat to the Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS) as terrestrial, ocean and coastal ecosystems, water and food security, cities, settlements and key infrastructure, health and well-being and livelihoods, face unprecedented challenges.

 Acting now is the best chance we have to survive and thrive. The longer we wait, the fewer options remain to achieve a climate resilient development pathway, the main theme of Professor Michelle Mycoo’s lecture.

 Professor Maycoo, Deputy Executive Director of The UWI Global Institute for Climate-Smart and Resilient Development, is a wealth of knowledge and expertise on the topic, having conducted more than 25 years of research on urban planning and human settlements, climate change adaptation, water management, disaster risk reduction and integrated coastal zone management in SIDS. 

 As a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), she was declared a co-laureate of the 2022 Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity and is the first Caribbean woman to function as a Coordinating Lead Author in 28 years for the United Nations IPCC 6th Assessment Report entitled Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability.  She coordinated the Small Islands Chapter and was a Contributing Author to chapters of the report on Cities, Settlements and Infrastructure and Climate Resilient Development Pathways.

 Professor Mycoo was conferred a Doctoral Degree in Urban Planning from McGill University. Her other degrees include a Master of Science in Urban Planning from the University of Hong Kong and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Geography and Social Science from The University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica. She is a Commonwealth Scholar, a Canadian International Development Agency Fellow, a US Fulbright Scholar, and has held several leadership positions before joining The UWI.

 To attend the event at 6:00pm on Wednesday, March 1,2023, Auditorium B, Learning Resource Centre, The UWI. St. Augustine Campus, click here:  https://bit.ly/MMycooLecture

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 About The University of the West Indies

 The UWI has been and continues to be a pivotal force in every aspect of Caribbean development; residing at the centre of all efforts to improve the well-being of people across the region for the past 75 years.

 From a university college of London in Jamaica with 33 medical students in 1948, The UWI is today an internationally respected, global university with near 50,000 students and five campuses: Monain Jamaica, St. Augustine in Trinidad and Tobago, Cave Hillin Barbados, Five IslandsinAntigua and Barbuda and itsOpen Campus, and global centres in partnership with universities in North America, Latin America, Asia, Africa and Europe.

 The UWI offers over 800 certificate, diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate degree options in Culture, Creative and Performing Arts, Food and Agriculture, Engineering, Humanities and Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Science and Technology, Social Sciences, and Sport. As the Caribbean’s leading university, it possesses the largest pool of Caribbean intellect and expertise committed to confronting the critical issues of our region and wider world.

 The UWI has been consistently ranked among the top universities globally by the most reputable ranking agency, Times Higher Education (THE). The UWI is the only Caribbean-based university to make the prestigious lists since its debut in the rankings in 2018. In addition to its leading position in the Caribbean in the World University Rankings, it is also in the top 25 for Latin America and the Caribbean and the top 100 global Golden Age universities (between 50 and 80 years old).  The UWI is also featured among the leading universities on THE’s Impact Rankings for its response to the world’s biggest concerns, outlined in the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including Good Health and Wellbeing; Gender Equality and Climate Action.

 2023 marks The UWI’s 75th anniversary. The Diamond jubilee milestone themed “UWI at 75. Rooted. Ready. Rising.” features initiatives purposely designed and aligned to reflect on the past, confront the present, and articulate plans for the future of the regional University.

 Learn more at www.uwi.edu 

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