IPCOB (International Program on Consensus Building) Seminar　[Poster]


"Tackling Climate Change: A System of Systems Engineering Perspective"
Also, "Fulfillment and Success in Research"




Date & Time: 14:00〜15:30 on Friday, March 15th, 2013
(Reception desk will open at 13:30)

Venue: Royal Blue Hall at Tokyo Tech Front
Ookayama Campus, Tokyo Institute of Technology
(One minute walk from Ookayama Station on Meguro/Oimachi Line)

Participation Fee: Free of charge

Speaker: Professor Keith W. Hipel
University Professor, PhD
Department of Systems Design Engineering, University of Waterloo, Canada

PEng, FIEEE, FINCOSE, FCAE, FEIC, FRSC, FAWRA
Senior Fellow, Centre for International Governance Innovation
President-Elect, Academy of Science, Royal Society of Canada

*Prof. Hipel is one of the two recipients of JSPS Award for Eminent Scientists (FY2012).

Abstract:
An integrative and adaptive approach to Responsible Governance is put forward for
addressing climate change based on a System of Systems (SoS) Engineering
framework that reflects the values of stakeholders using a participatory approach and
achieves desirable systems goals such as resilience, sustainability and fairness.
Currently, the world is suffering from an "Atmospheric Tragedy of the Commons" in
which every nation is knowingly releasing deadly greenhouse gases in order to selfishly
maximize its own economic benefits at the expense of  destroying the "Atmospheric
Commons" and thereby causing severe climate change which will adversely affect all
countries around the globe. To overcome this strategically unwise type of individual
behavior, a cooperative approach to good governance is suggested which will benefit
every nation economically in the long term and, more importantly, satisfy ethical systems
objectives. More specifically, the "Fee and Dividend" concept devised by James Hansen
and others is suggested as a truly insightful, yet simple, method  for solving the tough
strategic decision-making aspects of climate change via: (1) Taxing carbon at its source or
point of first sale (Fee). (2) Distributing 100% of this tax uniformly to all citizens
(Dividend). (3) Negotiating a level of tax for each nation (Liability). (4) Increasing the
tax over time in combination with stricter regulations to bring atmospheric carbon
accumulation to a stipulated level (Survival). When compared to other alternatives, such
as Cap and Trade, the "Fee and Dividend" idea may form the basis of a feasible and
sensible method for handling climate change in the same way that the 1987 "Montreal
Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer" and its extended versions thereof,
constitute exceptional international agreements for cooperatively controlling the size of
the ozone hole before it reached the point of no return. Indeed, the citizens of the world
are most grateful to the truly remarkable scientists, consisting of Mario Molina, Paul
Crutzen and Frank Rowland, who received the 1995 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for
explaining how CFCs created the ozone hole. In fact, responsible governance is not only
needed in proactively combating climate change and the ozone hole but in many other
highly interconnected complex SoS problems such as the failed American financial system,
growing gap between the rich and poor, unfair medical systems, irresponsible energy
production and usage, widespread pollution of both natural and societal systems, and
unreliable aging infrastructure. Accordingly, extensive research is urgently needed for
developing a comprehensive theoretical structure for System of Systems Science and
Engineering for suitably solving current and emerging complex systems problems.


Related References

Hansen, J., "Storms of my Grandchildren: The Truth about the Coming Climate Catastrophe
and Our Last Chance to Save Humanity", Bloomsbury, New York, 2009.

Hipel, K.W. and Bernath Walker, S., "Conflict Analysis in Environmental Management",
Environmetrics, Vol. 22, pages 279-293, 2011.

Hipel, K.W., Jamshidi, M.M., Tien, J.J., and White III, C.C., "The Future of Systems, Man and
Cybernetics: Application Domains and Research Methods", IEEE Transactions on Systems,
Man, and Cybernetics, Part C, Applications and Reviews, Vol. 37, No. 5, pages 726-743, 2007.

Hipel, K.W., Obeidi, A., Fang, L., and Kilgour, D.M., "Sustainable Environmental Management
from a System of  Systems Perspective", In System of Systems Engineering: Innovations for
the 21st Century, edited by M. Jamshidi, Wiley, New York, Chapter 18, pages 443-481, 2009.

Hipel, K.W., Obeidi, A., Fang, L., and Kilgour, D.M., "Adaptive Systems Thinking in Integrated
Water Resources Management with Insights into Conflicts over Water Exports", INFOR, Vol. 46,
No. 1, pages 51-69, 2008.


[How to Attend and Inquiries]
If you would like to attend the seminar, please send an email with your name, affiliation,
position, and email address to:profhipel.at.tokyotech@valdes.titech.ac.jp
(The seating capacity for this seminar is 90 people.)
For any inquiries regarding this seminar, please contact Prof. Inohara and Ms. Segawa,
(profhipel.at.tokyotech@valdes.titech.ac.jp), IPCOB.


* This seminar is supported by JSPS Award for Eminent Scientists.