Professor Thomas Sterner gave a keynote speech at a symposium at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana on April 18, to help interpret Pope Francis’ Encyclical “in care of our common home.”
The keynote explained the magnitude of the climate change challenge and potential solutions in light of the Encyclical. “We are faced not with two separate crises, one environmental and the other social, but rather with one complex crisis which is both social and environmental.”
Sterner visited Colombia during April and held a number of meetings with The Research Group on Environmental, Natural Resource and Applied Economics Studies (REES). The group is in the process of joining the EfD Initiative. At present, REES consists of eight researchers who conduct research in environmental economics and related topics in three Colombian universities, namely Universidad de los Andes (host institution), Pontificia Universidad Javeriana and Universidad Nacional de Colombia.
The main subject of discussion was REES current research agenda and its integration with the broader EfD community. Sterner also met with PhD students and researchers from different disciplines at both Pontificia Universidad Javeriana and Unversidad de los Andes.
Sterner made some waves in Colombian media as he was interviewed about his views on fossil fuel use. Colombia´s oil and coal industries are relatively large but are now facing a number of challenges due to both low international commodity prices and local environmental concerns. In an interview that appeared in the country´s main newspaper Professor Sterner stated: “Because of oil, Colombia cannot put its natural parks at risk”