Hybrid presentation: please select in-person or Zoom at registration. Zoom links will be emailed the week of the session.
Free for members / $20 for non-members
Earn 1 AIA/CES HSW (pending approval; AIA Honolulu is the registered provider)
Dr. Chip Fletcher, the interim dean of SOEST at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, will be giving a presentation on climate science research both specific to Hawai’i and on a global level, its tangible impacts on the built environment, and the codes and regulations governing construction in the islands.
In this session, he will discuss the research that has been done and that is ongoing into climate change and it’s impacts on the built environment; current targets to arrest or slow warming; progress made and challenges faced in meeting those targets; global sea level rise causes; trends and benchmarking; and how we can move forward using this information.
On a local level, Dr. Fletcher will be demonstrating what sea level rise looks like in Hawai’i, including events like compound flooding that we see happening now as well has what might be next. He will be discussing the science behind our coastal setback regulations, how they are being set up and implemented in different counties and what sort of impacts climate change is having/will have on the islands and how we build here.
If you’re interested in doing some reading by Dr. Fletcher before the presentation, you can see the Kaua’i Climate Hazard Review Paper here.
Dr. Chip Fletcher is the interim Dean of the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, and Director of the Climate Resilience Collaborative research team. He is Professor and past Chair of the Department of Earth Sciences and past Chair of the Honolulu Climate Change Commission.
Chip’s research focuses on assimilating global trends in decarbonization and climate projections, integrating climate projections for Hawai‘i to understand future shocks and stresses driving adaptation needs, and modeling the impacts of sea level rise in Hawai‘i. Chip teaches Earth Science and Climate Change, and with his students has published over 100 peer-reviewed scientific research papers. He is the author of three textbooks on: 1) Hawaiian shorelines, 2) Climate change, and 3) Earth Systems. Chip is a frequent public speaker, and contributor to local and national media. He has been principal advisor in funding and awarding over 35 graduate research degrees in Earth and Planetary Sciences.
