UB to take part in WNY environmental congress

Some 3,000 miles removed from the throng of world leaders gathered in Paris this week for the United Nations Conference on Climate Change, stakeholders in Western New York will convene to discuss their own solutions and ideas. It will happen as part of the WNY Environmental Alliance’s annual Environmental Congress, and will feature two UB faculty members.

The event, which is free and open to the public, runs from 5:30-8 p.m. Dec. 8 at the Buffalo Museum of Science, 1020 Humboldt Parkway. It’s billed as “a future-oriented forum, exploring innovative solutions for a cleaner and sustainable Western New York.”

The Environmental Congress kicks off at 5:30 p.m. with networking, refreshments and an exhibition of local projects demonstrating climate innovation. The museum’s second floor exhibits also will be open to guests during this time. Attendees are encouraged to RSVP.

Robert Shibley, dean of the School of Architecture and Planning, will moderate a panel discussion starting at 6:30 p.m. Panelists include Jason Briner, associate professor of geology; Joseph Mendelson, director of policy and electricity markets and regulatory counsel for Solar City; Adrienne Bermingham, Roots & Shoots program coordinator at the Jane Goodall Institute; Anne Petermann, executive director of the Global Justice Ecology Project; Brendan Mehaffy, executive director of the city of Buffalo Office of Strategic Planning; and Franchelle C. Hart, executive director of Open Buffalo.

Panelists will discuss climate change solutions and their impact on the Buffalo-Niagara region, along with implications for climate justice.

“The University at Buffalo is proud to partner with the Western New York Environmental Alliance — a coalition of more than 100 independent environmental organizations that collectively represents the environmental voice for our region — to advance a solutions based global climate change conversation here in Buffalo-Niagara,” says Ryan McPherson, UB’s chief sustainability officer.

“As the world works to find a pathway forward in Paris, we are working to bring sector leaders together to discuss proactive approaches at the local level,” adds McPherson, who serves as chair of the WNY Environmental Alliance.

Partners of this year’s event include the Western New York Sustainable Business Roundtable and the Sierra Club Niagara Group’s Rise Up for Climate Justice campaign. Prior to this year, UB had hosted the past three environmental congresses, which featured U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 2 Administrator Judith Enck and, last year, Daniel Katz, senior program director at the Overbrook Foundation.