How will climate risks evolve as global warming approaches several degrees? The coming decades will test societies’ capacity to anticipate and withstand a growing spectrum of climate-driven hazards, from intensifying storms and floods to more frequent droughts, wildfires, and coastal flooding. These risks are already reshaping economies, displacing communities, and exposing weaknesses in infrastructure, governance, and emergency response systems. Vulnerability is especially acute in low-lying coastal regions, agricultural zones, and rapidly expanding urban areas, where uneven development and limited resources magnify exposure to climate shocks. Which regions are poised to face the greatest transformations?  What tools can reliably guide long-term planning, and where do uncertainties still constrain decision-making? What factors determine whether extreme events escalate into humanitarian or economic crises?

The Deitz Family Initiative on Environment & Global Affairs will host a conversation with Yale professor Matthew Huber (Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences at Purdue University, and Visiting Fellow in the Yale Institute for Biospheric Studies) and Jackson Senior Fellow Jessica Faieta (former United Nations Assistant Secretary-General and United Nations Development Program Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean). The talk will be moderated by Jessica Seddon, Jackson senior lecturer and director of the Deitz Family Initiative. Lunch will be provided for all attendees. 

The Science Policy Interchange is a series of dialogues dedicated to reimagining the connections between humans and the wider environment and climate. Yale students, faculty, and practitioners will first hear from two speakers, each with a distinct background, working within a shared theme of interest at the interchange of environmental science and policy. These short introductory talks will lead a moderated group discussion devoted to elaborating connections between the science and policy aspects of the session’s theme, and to generating critical insight for contemporary environmental governance. The series is a part of the My Climate Risk Hub at Yale, currently convened by Jessica Seddon and supported by Bamboo Grove. My Climate Risk is a World Climate Research Programme Lighthouse Activity that seeks to “develop and mainstream a ‘bottom-up’ approach to regional climate risk, which starts with the requirements of decision-makers.”