The University of Texas is gearing up for its Planet Texas 2050 symposium, where climate anxiety and the need for climate equity are set to take center stage. The initiative, part of UT's "Grand Challenges," aims to tackle the environmental changes threatening the state, with a special focus this year on the psychological toll of climate change. As Texas battles with extreme weather, from droughts to harsh winters, as reported by KXAN.
"The idea is that we’re producing new knowledge, but doing it in a way that matters to communities," Katherine Lieberknecht, an Assistant Professor of Community and Regional Planning at UT, and the inaugural chair of Planet Texas 2050 when the program began in 2016, told KXAN.
Overcoming these challenges demands a collaborative effort across disciplines. "The first few years of this initiative were really about building that shared language, the sharing of different frameworks and the methods that are coming from engineering or planning or the humanities," said Program Director Heidi Schmalbach in a statement acquired by KXAN.
Planet Texas 2050 is more than just a think tank; its reach has extended to global stages such as the CII 2023 Annual Conference. There, Fernanda Leite, Associate Dean for Research-Designate from the Cockrell School of Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, presented insights gleaned from the initiative's focus on infrastructure resilience. The initiative has already spurred over 140 researchers at UT-Austin to work in concert on a diverse array of projects, including innovations in virtual reality and the circular economy, according to CIIBuilds.
This year’s symposium, taking place at UT Austin's William C. Powers Student Activity Center, promises to shine a light on such groundbreaking projects. Highlights include keynote speeches from climate experts like Dr. Jonathan Foley and Youth Climate Collaborative founder Pooja Tilvawala, as well as a collective focus on engaging the youth in the fight against climate change.
