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The Daily Pennsylvanian: ‘Warming is human activity’: Penn experts urge climate action on campus and beyond

From The Daily Pennsylvanian: Penn experts on climate action, some of whom contributed to the groundbreaking Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change published this summer, are emphasizing the urgency of climate action and reaching net-zero carbon emissions, particularly after the recent severe flooding and tornadoes that tore through Philadelphia. Howard Kunreuther, ​​a professor in The Wharton School who also serves as co-director of Wharton’s Risk Management and Decision Processes Center, identified three major takeaways from the report. First, he said humans are witnessing climate change and carbon emissions creating more serious problems than anyone had anticipated even one or two years ago. Second, he advised students, organizations, and countries to take advantage of the fact that we are now experiencing these events, in hopes of finally addressing biases and heuristics that prevent people from taking action against climate change. Finally, Kunreuther emphasized that both the government and public-private partnerships must involve individuals, organizations, and countries in developing strategies to take action. “We can’t wait another five or 10 years to get these measures in place. We have to do something now,” Kunreuther said. The United Nations’ annual Climate Change Conference this November, called COP 26, will be an important phase to implement the report’s recommendations, he said. Read the full story at The Daily Pennsylvanian. 

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