Time: 13:00 - 14:00

This seminar unpacks the central issues on mitigation and poverty in the climate and development debate. Some argue that the link is insignificant, as the contribution of the poor to the world’s emissions is minimal. This line of argument puts poverty into the category of adaptation to climate change. Others argue that climate change mitigation and poverty create trade-offs. Public administrations need to choose between policies that serve either one or the other objective. This seminar presents research that unpacks some of the contested questions on mitigation and poverty with a focus on middle income countries. 

Britta Rennkamp  is a researcher in the Energy, Environment and Climate Change Group, and Senior Fellow at the African Climate and Development Initiative, also at the University of Cape Town.