Lecture ’Escalating Climate Threats – Civic Engagement and State Accountability’

As part of the lecture series ’Current State and Perspectives of Natural Resources of Serbia in the Era of Climate Change, Energy Transition and New Directions of Economic Development’, Ana Vuković Vimić, PhD, a full professor of the Faculty of Agriculture at the University of Belgrade gave a lecture titled ’Escalating Climate Threats – Civic Engagement and State Accountability’ on Thursday, 16 October, at the SASA Grand Hall.

The issue of climate change has emerged due to growing climate risks and their cumulative impact. These climate risks encompass extreme weather conditions such as heat waves, droughts, extreme precipitation, storms and their consequent effects, including floods, fires, landslides, etc. They also involve slower processes which degrade natural resources and the state of the environment, such as land degradation, biodiversity loss, and water resources depletion. For the first time in its existence, humanity is confronted with such rapid climate change. Therefore, alongside the adaptation of natural systems, the adaptation of social systems presents a major challenge.

When climate change is considered together with social and economic development, it becomes clear that we need policies that systematically encourage measures that contribute to both cutting greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to new, rapidly changing climate realities, especially to lessen the damage caused by increasingly severe climate hazards.

Global policies can no longer afford to neglect global challenges and exacerbate them by focusing on regional strife. They particularly must not fuel regional or national conflicts due to increased vulnerability to climate change, whose impact would cause far greater damage and threaten the security and even the lives of people. The development of the global economy has facilitated the global transfer of the consequences of the impacts of climate hazards.

Nevertheless, the primary responsibility for mitigating climate risks rests with national governments. The so-called defensive barrier against climate hazards encompasses respect for human rights and equity in strategic planning, low poverty levels, the absence of corruption and conflict, efficient disaster-recovery mechanisms, clear and consistent climate policies, effective healthcare, and a resilient economy. The weakening of any of these components triggers a cascading increase in risks, potentially leading to irreversible disruptions in the state’s sustainable development. The lecture includes an overview of the steps leading from scientific climate risks evaluation, interactions with other environmental problems and resource use, to building a functional climate change adaptation process in the country. It will also include a presentation of the current situation in the region and the Republic of Serbia.