UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The April Climate Conversations Café will host Brianna Craft, a climate justice researcher and author, for a discussion on diplomacy, climate-change negotiations and storytelling. Craft, a senior research associate with ODI Global’s Climate and Sustainability program, will speak from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, April 23, in 312 Earth and Engineering Sciences Building. Her presentation will be titled “Storytelling for Climate Justice.”
The event is free and open to the public, with a light lunch provided and a Zoom option available. Registration is required.
Craft researches climate justice, and in her role with ODI Global, a think tank whose goal is to work to build a more resilient, just and equitable future for all, she works in climate negotiations. During her decade-plus career, she witnessed the adoption of the Paris Agreement firsthand. Today, she continues to further equity in negotiations for the world’s poorest countries, which, according to Craft, have done the least to cause the climate crisis but are the most vulnerable to its impacts.
In addition to her role in climate research, Craft has written two books. In “Everything That Rises: A Climate Change Memoir,” a coming-of-age memoir, Craft connects United Nations climate talks to her turbulent childhood, revealing power imbalances in both. In “We Don't Have Time for This,” a young adult novel, Craft follows two rival teen activists who are forced to co-lead their school’s environmental club and navigate an unexpected romance.
In an interview with the Guardian, Craft said, “It’s so fundamental to us to care and look after people in our lives. When it comes to fighting for our friends and family, most of us don’t question if we have the hope or resolve to act, we just do it. We should think about the climate crisis in this way too.”
Climate Conversations Cafés are organized by the Penn State Climate Consortium, and Craft's visit is supported by the Consortium and the Penn State Department of Geography.