Livestream with Nobel Laureate Esther DufloTackling the Challenges of Climate Change

17 May 2021, by Christina Krätzig

Photo: Bryce Vickmark 2019

The Franco-American economist Esther Duflo teaches at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 2019, she and 2 colleagues were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize for Economics for their work on fighting poverty and the effectiveness of developmental aid. In 2020, she won a German award for economic writing, the Deutscher Wirtschaftsbuchpreis, for her book Good Economics for Hard Times.

Nobel laureate Esther Duflo joins in a livestream discussion with researchers from all over the world. This public event kicks off the fourth Global University Leaders Council Hamburg, which brings together top university leaders in Hamburg or digitally every 2 years.

How can we lead societies to a sustainable future? How can we master the climate crisis? And what role do academia and universities play in all of this? These are the central questions of the Global University Leaders Council Hamburg (GUC).

This year’s digital Council will be begin with an introductory public event. Nobel laureate Esther Duflo will give a talk titled “Good Economics for Warmer Times: How to Address our Climate Change Challenges” and take a look at how to cope with climate change and its consequences. Subsequently, she will talk with Professor Detlef Stammer, head of the World Climate Research Program (WCRP) and spokesperson for the Cluster of Excellence Climate, Climatic Change, and Society (CLICCS) at Universität Hamburg as well as with Professor Peter-André-Alt, president of the German Rectors’ Conference, Professor Pam Fredman, president of the International Association of Universities, and Professor Mamokgethi Phaken, vice chancellor of the South African Kapstadt University. The event will be held in English and moderated by the former editor in chief of DER SPIEGEL / SPIEGEL ONLINE, Dr. Barbara Hans. The public can watch the livestream on 1 June 2021 at 4:30 pm. You can submit questions in English prior to the livestream.

The Global University Leaders Council Hamburg is a joint initiative by the German Rectors’ Conference, the Körber-Stiftung, and Universität Hamburg. This year it will take place from 2–4 June. Participants will discuss recommendations for future efforts at their universities to address the climate crisis. International strategy conferences such as these are an important building block in our concept of A Flagship University: Innovating and Cooperating for a Sustainable Future at Universität Hamburg—University of Excellence.