Paris to Portland: Localizing Global Climate Action

All Mitchell Center talks are available via Zoom and are free and open to the public. Registration is required. Please go to the event page at the link below to register and receive connection information.

Paris to Portland: Localizing Global Climate Action

Monday, March 22

3:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Speaker: Dr. David Reidmiller, Director, Climate Center, Gulf of Maine Research Institute 

Just over five years ago, the world ushered in a new era of international climate action with the Paris Agreement. Having led the science and technology negotiations for the United States, Dr. Reidmiller will discuss the conditions that made the monumental Agreement possible and reflect on lessons in climate communication and consensus-building that carried forward through his leadership of the Fourth National Climate Assessment. Those global- and national-level efforts have relevance at the local scale, as well. Dr. Reidmiller will describe how his experience working to advance climate science policy on the international and federal stages motivated him to move to Maine, where he’s launching the Gulf of Maine Research Institute’s climate center to address regional risks and opportunities in one of the world’s fastest warming areas. By working closely with marine and coastal stakeholders, GMRI’s climate center is poised to accelerate climate solutions throughout the region and serve as a model globally for user-driven climate action.

Dave Reidmiller is the Director of the interdisciplinary Climate Center at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI). Prior to joining GMRI, Dr. Reidmiller served in a variety of senior positions for the federal government including as Acting Director of the Northeast and Southeast Climate Adaptation Science Centers (CASC) with the U.S. Geological Survey. He also led the Fourth National Climate Assessment as part of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and served in the State Department’s climate office for five years during the Obama Administration, where he led U.S. engagement in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and was the lead U.S. science and technology negotiator for the Paris Agreement.

To request a reasonable accommodation, contact Ruth Hallsworth, 207.581.3196 or hallsworth@maine.edu.