From the wildfires raging in Los Angeles to sea levels rising rapidly on Pacific islands, the destruction of mangroves and rainforests, and melting glaciers. It is easy to be overwhelmed by climate change, especially when it is framed as an ongoing crisis of enormous proportions: a looming global disaster. In Slow Burn: The Hidden Costs of a Warming World, economist R. Jisung Park urges us to focus not on doom-ridden hypothetical scenarios, but on the tangible impacts of climate change unfolding right now, in our daily lives.
About the speakers
Jisung Park is an environmental and labor economist interested in how environmental factors shape economic opportunity and inequality. Park is an assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania in the School of Social Policy and Practice and the Wharton School’s Department of Business Economics and Public Policy. His research combines data, experimental methods, and economic analysis to better understand the implications of environmental change for human flourishing and how effective policy responses may be designed.
Wouter van Noort, NRC journalist, will join Park for a discussion on how to make climate change approachable and actionable. In his popular newsletter, Future Affairs, he tackles a wide variety of topics, including the climate, innovation and research. His work often bridges the gap between technology and human values, offering accessible and thought-provoking perspectives on the challenges and opportunities of the modern world.
Tracy Metz, Director of the John Adams Institute, will moderate the event. In addition to her role at the John Adams, Metz is a journalist, author and podcaster who tackles major questions about design, our changing climate and water. She is widely recognized for her engaging insights into how human activity shapes the built environment and how societies adapt to environmental challenges.
