News J-WAFS researcher speaks at climate conference at the Vatican

Kenneth Strzepek outlined the impacts of droughts on smallholder farmers for an audience of researchers, policymakers, faith leaders, and Pope Francis.

Carolyn Blais May 22, 2024

In 2022, the Vatican, through the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, formed a new initiative called Climate Resilience, which brought researchers, policymakers, and faith leaders together to understand the scientific and societal challenges of climate change and recommend solutions. This May 15-17, the group organized a summit at the Vatican titled, “From Climate Crisis to Climate Resilience.” According to the event program, the convening aimed at  “bending the curve and bouncing forward to climate resilience.”

Kenneth Strzepek, the Climate, Water, and Food Specialist at J-WAFS, attended and spoke at the summit, which was presided over by Pope Francis. Attendees included well-known political figures from around the world, such as Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey, Boston’s Mayor Michelle Wu, and Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London. According to the event’s concept note, “Climate Resilience requires cross-disciplinary part¬nerships among researchers, engineers, and entre¬preneurs and trans-disciplinary partnerships be¬tween science and community leaders…Mayors and Governors form the core of such transdisciplinary partnerships.”

The summit had four focus domains: water, air, food, and energy. Strzepek, an expert in water resource planning, management, and modeling, spoke about droughts in the water session. In his talk titled, “Climate Change and Drought: The Impact on the Invisible 60% of Africa’s Population,” Strzepek noted that it can be difficult to define drought. “If we say that a drought is when there isn't enough water, what does “enough” mean? And enough for what or whom?” Drought, therefore, must be looked at conceptually, as an idea or concept; and operationally, by how drought functions or operates in ways that can be measured. The key takeaways from Strzepek’s talk were that climate change is driving increases in the variability and extremes of droughts. Agricultural drought, when crops are affected due to lack of moisture in the soil, will be worst under climate change. This is particularly detrimental to smallholder farmers who produce around a third of the world’s food on farms that are less than 4 acres in size. These farmers often do not have access to the resources or finances to help mitigate or adapt to droughts. In Africa, 60% of the population are smallholder farmers who produce 80% of the continent’s food supply through rainfed subsistence farming. “They are the most vulnerable to drought as they are generally invisible to economic development and resources,” says Strzepek. “We need to invest in supporting small-scale rainfed farmers to be ready for current and future worsening droughts,” he adds.

The Summit produced a Planetary Climate Resilience protocol with all participants as cosignatories. It has 8 components that highlight the imperative need for urgent action, especially to help the most vulnerable and poor communities around the world. The protocol will be submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

You can read more about Strzepek’s experience at the Vatican from MIT’s Joint Program on the Science and Policy for Global Change, where Strzepek is also a researcher.