First-of-its-Kind GEMM Summit brings together experts in climate, technology and policy
WASHINGTON - On 5-6 December, experts in climate, technology and policy are convening for GEMM Asia, a summit hosted by the Global Environmental Measurement and Monitoring (GEMM) Initiative and the National University of Singapore (NUS) Faculty of Law. The GEMM Initiative, a partnership between Optica (formerly OSA), Advancing Optics and Photonics Worldwide and the American Geophysical Union (AGU) is working to build an international network focused on regional-based solutions to climate and environmental issues.
The GEMM Initiative has established centers in North America, New Zealand, Scotland and the Canadian Arctic, with each center focusing on local issues from urban air quality to coastal water usage. GEMM Asia will provide a platform to discuss how similar approaches can be deployed across Asia to address the challenges unique to each city and country.
"The GEMM initiative continues to move closer to being a truly global network of institutions working toward a common goal: of mitigating environmental harm on local levels," said Tom Baer, GEMM Committee chair and member of the organizing committee. "We are hopeful that the discussions at this summit open up new avenues for GEMM to build partnerships with institutions across Asia."
GEMM Asia will take place in a hybrid format, drawing a unique mix of scientists, technologists and policymakers from across Asia-representing academia, industry and government. The summit will facilitate a discussion of the current status of environmental observations and modeling of regions in Asia and where additional data can improve these models.
Day one will focus on the current status of environmental monitoring in Singapore, Japan, China, the Republic of Korea, India and Southeast Asian countries. Speakers include regional experts such as Eko Siswanto, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology; Qingyan Fu, Shanghai Environmental Monitoring Center; ML Kansal, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee and many others.
Day two of the summit will feature GEMM-focused presentations, including talks from representatives at three existing GEMM Centers: Ron Cohen representing the California GEMM Center, Stephen representing the Glasgow GEMM Center in Scotland and John Harvey from the Dodd Walls GEMM Center in New Zealand.
The GEMM Asia summit is invitation-only for its in-person component. Virtual attendees are encouraged to register here.
