Climate change and the winds of war focus of UI symposium

The impact of climate change on world peace is the headlining topic Oct. 7-9 at the University of Idaho Borah Symposium.

The annual event is dedicated to exploring new ideas for overcoming the obstacles to peace. Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, will deliver the keynote address.

Power served as a senior adviser and special assistant to President Barack Obama. During her tenure, her office focused on issues such as UN reform, women’s and LGBT rights, religious freedom, refugees, human trafficking and democracy. In 2016, Forbes listed her as the 41st most powerful woman in the world. She won a Pulitzer Prize for her 2003 book “A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide,” and recently published her memoir, “The Education of an Idealist.”

A complete schedule of the symposium is as follows. All lectures are in the Bruce M. Pitman Center.

• 4 p.m. Oct. 7: Plenary Address on Climate and Conflict, presented by Sherri Goodman, senior strategist at the Center for Climate and Security and chair of the Board of the Council on Strategic Risks, in the International Ballroom.
• 12:30 p.m. Oct. 8: “Considerations on the U.S. Navy and Climate Change in the Arctic,” presented by Capt. Shaun C. McAndrew, commanding officer of the UI-Washington State University Navy ROTC detachment, in the Vandal Ballroom.
• 7 p.m. Oct. 8: “Food, Climate and Conflict, presented by Ertharin Cousin, former executive director for the UN World Food Programme, in the International Ballroom.
• 7 p.m. Oct. 9: Keynote Address on Climate and Conflict, presented by Power, International Ballroom.

“While the issue of climate change has been at the center of many international summits over the past few years, the substantial effect of the changing climate on global conflict has not received enough public attention,” Florian Justwan, chairman of the Borah Foundation Committee and assistant professor in the Department of Politics and Philosophy said in a news release. “This year’s symposium will highlight a number of different mechanisms by which climate change fuels conflict both within and across countries.”

— Inland 360 staff