Event Details

The pace and reach of contemporary urbanization are unprecedented. Every day, an area equal to about 20,000 soccer fields become converted to urban uses. Every ten days, the global urban population increases by about one million. Currently, urban areas contribute to about 67-72% of global emissions. With urban land areas expected to triple in size between 2015 and 2050, massive infrastructure build-up will result in carbon lock-in and the global share of future urban GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions will increase through 2050.


Why are cities critical to solving the climate crisis? How does large-scale urbanization interact with regional climate change? In this talk, Professor Seto will discuss trends in urbanization and the challenges they present for global sustainability. She will present key findings from the 2022 IPCC report and other new results that document the effects of urbanization on land, biodiversity, food systems, and regional and global climate.

Speakers

  • Karen Seto (Frederick C. Hixon Professor of Geography and Urbanization Science at Yale University)

    Karen Seto

    Frederick C. Hixon Professor of Geography and Urbanization Science at Yale University

    Karen Seto is the Frederick C. Hixon Professor of Geography and Urbanization Science at Yale University. She has extensive fieldwork experience in Asia, especially China and India, where she has conducted research for over 20 and 10 years, respectively. Professor Seto serves on numerous national and international scientific bodies, and has received many awards and accolades for her scientific contributions. Notably, she has been a coordinating lead author for the United Nation’s IPCC 6th and 5th Assessment Reports, and is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. From 2000 to 2008, she was faculty at Stanford. She received a Ph.D. in Geography from Boston University.

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Tickets

General Free Ticket
Standard Price Complimentary
SMART Talks on Climate Change Program Free Ticket

for Previous Participants in SMART Talks on Climate Change

Standard Price Complimentary

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