On 22 November, the Climate Forum ‘Recovery and Resilience, Climate Inequality: the Way to Fair Solutions’ was held at SNAU. The event is part of the international project ‘Socio-ecological significance of urban green spaces in the context of the water cycle altered by global climate change – cooperation in teaching and research’. It is being implemented in cooperation with the Mendel University of Brno, Sumy National Agrarian University in partnership with the Brno Environmental Foundation and Sumy City Council.
The forum was held in a mixed format: offline and online. It was divided into two parts: an expert panel and a discussion panel. The discussion was attended by Rymma BYKOVA, Deputy Mayor for the Executive Bodies of the Council, Iryna KASHPUR, Director of the Department of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of the Sumy Regional State Administration, Roman YAROSHCHUK and Svitlana YAROSHCHUK, scientists from the SNAU, Bohdan SEMENENKO, Director of the Department of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources, Svitlana Krakowska, climatologist, Yurii BOVA, Mayor of Trostianets, and partners from the Czech Republic: Professor Petr MADERA, Lenka ERENBERGEROVA, Lucia RZEGORZIKOVA from Mendel University. In total, the forum was attended by about 100 representatives from different parts of Ukraine and the world, which confirms the importance of the topic.
This event was made possible thanks to the coordinated work of the entire university. Ihor KOVALENKO, Rector of SNAU, noted that it was an honour and responsibility to host a forum of this level.
A few years ago, climate change adaptation was not often a priority for communities. The war has pushed them to strategic planning for sustainable development and strengthening energy independence. During the discussion panel, representatives from different regions of the country had the opportunity to share their own experience, which helps to accelerate the process of addressing climate change.
In addition to the discussion, the scientists presented the international project ‘Socio-ecological significance of urban green spaces in the context of the water cycle altered by global climate change – cooperation in teaching and research’. This is a long-standing cooperation between SNAU and Mendel University in Brno, which is already being actively implemented. It is very important that the demonstration project, which was first implemented in Ukraine, will serve the Sumy community.
We also focused on finding solutions that will provide equal opportunities for communities to achieve climate neutrality. We hope that this event will become a platform for a constructive dialogue between government agencies, local authorities, scientists and the public on the path to a sustainable future.
