Scientist François Gemenne, co-director of the Defense and Climate Observatory of the French Ministry of Defense, at Cigdem Yorgancioglu Chi Ci Talks at the French Consulate Istanbul
Institut Français Turkey is currently (May 2024) organizing a series of conferences, workshops and exhibition events under the title “The Mediterranean, a Sea Under Pressure” in order to raise awareness about marine biodiversity before the United Nations Ocean Summit to be held in Nice, France in 2025 and the “Mediterranean Season” in 2026. . The event series aims to address coastal zone governance, climate challenges and the social consequences of biodiversity loss and ecological collapse from a multidisciplinary perspective. In this context, Prof. François Gemenne held a conversation at the French Consulate , moderated by Selcan Serdaroğlu Polatay.
World traveler economist Çiğdem Yorgancıoglu, researcher,energy contracts forensic expert, who acts as a worldwide advocate and a personal participant in different geographies on five continents, of all kinds of studies and initiatives carried out to develop the global capacity of social science in a peaceful and equitable way to explain and deal with the migration dimensions of the sustainability problem was invited guest of the interview held at French Consulate. Yorgancıoglu, held a narrow content format Chi Ci Talks short dialogue with a world-renowned scientist and co-director of the Defense and Climate Observatory of the French Ministry of Defense, academician, environmental geopolitics and migration dynamics expert Prof.Dr. François Gemenne.Chi Ci Talks held following the presentation of the French Consulate event.
The YouTube link of the Chi Ci Talks broadcast, which is a section of the Chi Ci Talks dialogue, is at the end of this article.
Underlining that the climate crisis is a transnational issue and drawing attention to the importance of theory and rigorous empirical research to expand knowledge on transformations towards sustainability by including migration dynamics, political scientist and IPCC member François Gemenne explained why the fight against global warming is not a priority for all political parties, but also He made explanations about why the use of fossil fuels is still valid despite extreme climate events. He explained how the EU and Green parties can change their strategies internally and externally.
This article is about Prof. Dr. Gemenne’s ideas in terms of climate, migration, development and scientific perspective in general, and Çiğdem Yorgancıoğlu’s impressions, evaluations and the short conversation she had with the scientist in Chi Ci Talks. Although this is the scope of the article, the question posed to Gemenne in Chi Ci Talks was about policies regarding hydrocarbon resources in the Eastern Mediterranean.
First of all, it should be known that Gemnenne is not only a scientist but also a politician or an academician with a strong political perspective. It is also possible to find this in his statements about his doctoral thesis and research. Considering Gemenne’s own statement, his doctoral research is mostly descriptive. The research aimed to identify policy gaps regarding environmental migration. The AXA-funded postdoctoral research was a direct continuation of this work. Solutions that can fill these gaps have been sought at both international and regional levels. The postdoctoral research had a forward-looking orientation. It also examined possible normative frameworks that could be developed and how they could be implemented. Therefore, it was much more policy-oriented than his doctoral research. This study aims to be of direct practical relevance to the protection of those displaced by climate change.
In short, although the scientific basis of climate change is well established, Gemenne was motivated by the fact that less research has been done on the effects of climate change on humans and especially on how it may affect migration patterns. His foresight and work on this subject were directed as follows;
In many cases, migration caused by climate change is perceived as a “failure to adapt” rather than a risk reduction strategy for affected populations. While working with the Asian Development Bank and the Oxford University Refugee Studies Centre, Prof.Dr. François Gemenne has shown that current environmental and migration policies cannot adequately address migration flows caused by climate change and therefore cannot protect migrating populations. Prof. dr. Gemenne first examined how migration patterns are affected after a disaster, as well as slow-onset change such as desertification or sea level rise.
There Is No Point In Europe Becoming A Carbon-Free Island In A Sea Of Carbon. Europe’s Priority Must Be To Encourage Investments In Energy Transitions And Increase Access To Low-Carbon Technologies Globally
Looking at European climate diplomacy, Europe thinks that it will be a role model on the issue of climate change and that other countries of the world will follow it. But this does not work, especially in the current geopolitical context where the European model is not viewed favorably. Many countries—think some African governments, for example—see renewable energies as a way for Europe to maintain its dominance over countries of the Global South. Too often, Europe and other industrialized countries think they must do their part and that their share is limited by the proportion of greenhouse gas emissions they represent. This approach will never work. By 2030, Europe will only have some of its emissions fall below the targets. There is no point in Europe becoming a carbon-free island in a carbon sea. But this is what will happen if Europe doesn’t pay attention.
It Requires An Urgent Reassessment Of Our Political Priorities And The Choices Made By The Continent And Its Institutions
A relentless focus on de-carbonization as well as protection from climate disasters is required. Climate scientists can evaluate various future scenarios with a high degree of predictive power. There are also threats to lives and livelihoods if we fail to get the climate emergency under control. Predicting human and corporate behavior, on the other hand, is much more difficult. Climate disasters are an acid test; We do not yet know the choices states and elites will make in response. But we know that these choices will determine the future for generations. Climate change knows no borders, but existing inequalities determine who will be most affected. Heat waves have brought increased risks of disease, death, thirst and hunger to already vulnerable people in displacement camps from southern Greece to Syria. Environmental and climate crises each escape from the countries devastated should be handled sociologically.
Global Warming and Climate Issues Are Important As Border Control
The world’s most powerful economies are weighing new border controls over climate finance for those in need. Such economies spend more and more. The European Commission provided euro resources for which is demanded for migration. Much of the demanded amount comes from harsh border controls. Such approaches have helped create rather than solve a humanitarian crisis for displaced people, and the European border is now one of the deadliest border zones in the world. But they have largely failed to prevent people from moving, only making those journeys more difficult. Meanwhile, as Europe’s political focus is preoccupied with endless debates about border control, there is a risk of distraction from what really matters. In short, the biggest threat to Europe is not migration but climate, and it should be our number one priority. Many policymakers really appreciate this; but it’s hard to tell from the tone of the eye-catching headline speeches.
Migration vs Climate Dilemma
It is necessary to offer some alternatives so that developing countries can follow a different development path. Currently, investments in low-carbon energy remain quite low in the Global South. Europe must commit to working with countries around the world to scale up these investments. Europe has plenty of money, investors, big banks, technology and leverage. The problem is that Europe is focused on developing climate technologies for itself. Nuclear energy and artificial intelligence are the same. Improving European energy systems is not enough. It is very important that these technologies are made available all over the world. In this context, Europe is in a strong position to lead the mitigation of climate change rather than migration control, which is the primary driver of foreign and development policy.
Paris Agreement
Essentially, the existence of the COP (the annual UN global climate conference) and the Paris Agreement are evidence that countries around the world are rallying around what they perceive to be a global problem that must be addressed collectively. All countries agreed to do something and made a formal commitment, even though what was done later was inadequate. It is currently unclear how the divisions in geopolitics will be reflected in climate negotiations. At the time of the 2015 Paris Agreement, the global community was much less divided than it is today. As of today, I doubt that the Paris Agreement can be fully negotiated successfully today. Alliances between countries, as well as companies and non-governmental organizations, are the most effective way to advance COPs. COPs should be evaluated not only against the consensus reached by governments, but also against other initiatives that enable it to develop.
This was a conversation that provided up-to-date information on climate trends and their potential impact on natural resources and different main activity sectors in the Mediterranean.
Within the scope of this series themed “Mediterranean Under Pressure”, in which scientists and NGO representatives working in the fields of ecology and environmental protection (universities, NGOs, research centers, municipalities and national parks and protected areas) participated, one of the scientists, Prof., an expert in the field of environment and migration geopolitics. François Gemenne. He discussed many issues such as migration, new generation technologies and climate. Among these, his statements about climate targets were quite striking.
CONCLUSUION
François Gemenne’s PhD thesis at Sciences Po Paris International at the Center for Studies and Research (CERI) and the University of Liege (Belgium) in partnership with the Center for Ethnic and Migration Research (CEDEM) carried out. Thanks to a postdoctoral fellowship from the AXA Research Fund at the Institute of Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI) has become able to work as a research assistant. Same At the same time, Sciences Po held an international conference on climate change in Paris. He gives lectures on policy and migration management. .His research focuses on people displaced by environmental changes. policy aimed at managing and sometimes protecting populations discussed their reactions. In New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, in the Tuvalu archipelago, which is threatened by sea level rise, He has done field work in China and Central Asia. His research is climate the effects of change on global migration and these effects focused on normative frameworks that can address these migration flows. Possible development of new policies and tools that can when evaluating normative frameworks, we consider them as risks. I observed Integrating assessments and adaptation strategies the depth and depth of the precise stabs in question in his words. In order to know the depth and value of the determinations mentioned in the interview and in his discourses, it is necessary to mention them first. I say this as someone who cares about the importance of appreciating valuable scientists.
It was a rewarding conversation about climate trends and their potential impact on natural resources and different key sectors of activity in the Mediterranean. Prof. François Gemenne, an expert in the field of environmental and migration geopolitics, is one of the scientists in this series themed “Mediterranean Under Pressure”, which is attended by scientists and NGO representatives working in the fields of ecology and environmental protection (universities, NGOs, research centers, municipalities and national parks and conservation areas). He discussed many topics on migration, new generation technologies and climate. Among these, his statements on climate targets and Europe’s positioning here were quite striking.
It is crucial to compromise on alternatives so that developing countries can track a different development path. Currently, investments in low-carbon energy remain quite low in some districts and countries. Europe must promise to cooperate with countries around the world to scale up such low-carbon energy investments. It can be deemed as a commitment of Europe in this regard. Europe has plenty of money, venture capitalist, big banks, technology and leverage. The problem is that Europe is fixated on developing climate technologies and expertise for itself. Nuclear energy and artificial intelligence should be taken into consideration in this regard. Refining only European energy systems is not enough. It is quite imperative that these technologies are made accessible all over the world. In this perspective, Europe is in a strong position to lead the mitigation of climate change rather than migration control, which is the primary driver of foreign and development policy.
Çiğdem Yorgancıoğlu reaches the following final findings, including anthropogenic perspectives, regarding the indispensable requirements that Gemenne proposes regarding the migration vs climate dilemma, based on his speeches and the inspirations attained from his talk. Gemeine suggests that policies addressing environmental migration should be framed within the framework of the development agenda rather than the security or humanitarian agenda. Such policies include the movability of social rights for immigrants, regional cooperation and greater attention to those left behind, often the most vulnerable. With the right policies, migration can be an effective adaptation strategy in situations of environmental stress. Regarding the Paris Agreement, COPs should be evaluated not only against the consensus reached by governments, but also against other initiatives that enable it to develop. Otherwise global net-zero target is beyond horizon.
SHORT BIODATA
Prof. Dr. François Gemenne
Lead author of the 6th IPCC report (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Sixth Assessment Report). He also lectures on climate policy and international migration at several universities, including Sciences Po Paris and the Sorbonne. Gemenne, whose research focuses on the international governance of climate and migration, has worked on population displacements linked to environmental issues, climate change adaptation policies, and asylum and migration policies.
Prof. is an expert in environmental geopolitics and migration dynamics. Dr. François Gemenne is an FNRS senior research fellow at the University of Liège, where he is Director of the Hugo Observatory. He is also co-director of the Defense and Climate Observatory of the French Ministry of Defense. He lectures on environmental and migration policies at various universities, including Sciences Po (Paris and Grenoble) and the Free University of Brussels, where he holds the Bernheim Chair for Peace and Citizenship. His research is mostly related to environmental and migration management. He is the lead author of the IPCC and has been involved in numerous international research projects on these topics. In 2015, he received a Fulbright scholarship to conduct research at Princeton University. He has previously worked as a research assistant at Sciences Po (as managing director of the World Politics research programme), the University of Versailles (UVSQ) and IDDRI. He was also scientific advisor to the ‘Indigenous Lands’ exhibition. “Stop Subtracting” at the Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain in Paris. He has advised many organizations, including the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the World Bank, the ACP Migration Observatory and the British government (Foresight). In 2010, he was awarded the ISDT-Wernaers Prize for his success in bringing science to the public.
He holds a joint PhD in political science from Sciences Po Paris and the University of Liege (Belgium). He also holds a Master’s degree in Development, Environment and Societies from the University of Louvain and a Research Master’s degree in Political Science from the London School of Economics. He was awarded a postdoctoral fellowship from the AXA Research Fund between 2008 and 2010. He has published articles in various journals, including Science and Global Environmental Change, has written several books, and is also the director of the Sustainable Development series at Presses de Sciences Po.
Associate Prof. Selcan Serdaroğlu Polatay
The conversation was moderated by Galatasaray University International Relations Department Lecturer Selcan Serdaroğlu Polatay. Polatay’s work focuses on Turkey’s capacity to act in light of sustainable development and the challenges posed by large-scale loss of biological integrity, with an emphasis on both ecology and human health. Selcan Serdaroğlu Polatay, who graduated from the Department of Francophone Public Administration at Marmara University and completed her doctorate in economics at the University of Strasbourg, worked as a guest researcher on the international governance of biodiversity at IDDRI (Sustainable Development and International Relations Institute). His research interests include the implementation of sustainable development in developing countries, Latin American politics and economics, international biodiversity governance, and cooperation in international trade. He has publications in international and national refereed journals and books on the governance of sustainable development, international governance of biotechnology and biodiversity, trade wars and environmental policy. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Adım Zero Waste Association.
Cigdem Yorgancioglu
Energy Contracts Expert, Forensic Sciences Expert, Enerji Gazetesi, and UPA Researcher columnist Çiğdem Yorgancioğlu, whose articles on energy issues are referred to academic research and published in peer-reviewed journals, is a graduate of Boğaziçi (Bosphorus) University, Faculty of Administrative Sciences, Business Administration and Economics. She is currently studying at Istanbul University, Department of Political Science and International Relations, and She has worked as a manager and expert in many companies on different subjects (Foreign Trade, IT – Telecommunication, Energy, etc.) at much respected Companies both in Turkey and the World. She represented Turkey abroad at various Universities, presenting academic articles and presentations. She is lecturing CLC 360 and MIM CHI 360 Trainings on Carbon Footprint Reduction, Sustainability and Clean Energy. She conducts research on policies and publishes articles on Energy in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Mavi Vatan doctrine. You can also listen to the trainings on the Maritime Sector Marine Pollution Prevention Conventions (MARPOL etc.) and the scenarios she developed in the radio program where the Maritime Sector Global risks are discussed and Çiğdem Yorgancığlu was the guest.of program ( ( https://radyo.stendustri.com.tr/h-cigdem-yorgancioglu-cetin-unsalan-ile-iste-bunu-konusalim/ Let’s Talk About This program prepared and presented by Çetin Ünsalan was attended by Risk Expert, Economist and Trainer H. Çiğdem Yorgancıoğlu was the guest. ) Yorgancıoğlu, who also moderates panels and fairs on energy, is the senior editorial columnist of Energy Newspaper and UPA writer .
CHI CI TALKS Broadcast: https://youtu.be/xipKdWHeKGc