People For Earth

On February 5, 2025, the 9th Climate Change Colloquium, co-hosted by the GMRC of Chung-Ang University, People for Earth., and the Korea Stanford Center, was held at People for Earth.

At this colloquium, Professor Paul Erdkamp of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel in Belgium was invited as a speaker and delivered a lecture on the theme, “From Climate Impact to Resilience: Early Eurasian Societies in Historical Perspective.”

The colloquium began with a presentation by Hee-Jeong Lim, Senior Researcher at the Korea Stanford Center, and Professor Paul Erdkamp presented an approach that comprehensively considers climatological and paleoclimatological factors along with social factors.

Professor Erdkamp argued that while long-term climate change, such as the Little Ice Age, has been considered a primary cause of civilization collapse, recent paleoclimatic research emphasizes more complex interactions beyond simple causal relationships. Contrary to common belief, he asserted that humanity has recognized the connections between climate change and agriculture, food security, political stability, and social structures, and has developed various adaptation strategies. He presented examples from Neolithic Switzerland, the late Roman Empire, China, and Angkor Wat, arguing that societies are not merely passive recipients of climate change but that outcomes can vary depending on human responses.

In particular, Professor Erdkamp highlighted how advancements in technology have enabled new interpretations of the past in modern paleoclimatology, citing the example of lakeside villages in Neolithic Switzerland. While it was previously believed that these villages periodically collapsed due to climate change, recent research suggests that the inhabitants successfully overcame climate change through an adaptation strategy of 'migration,' moving in response to environmental changes and returning to rebuild their villages when climatic conditions improved. Furthermore, while the fall of the Ming Dynasty coincided with the Little Ice Age and a great famine, considering that the dynasty persisted through even more severe climate change in the 15th and 16th centuries, its collapse cannot be solely attributed to climate change. Professor Erdkamp inferred that the Ming Dynasty at that time may not have secured sufficient control over material resources during the transition from a mixed economy to a commercial economy. He also analyzed that in the case of the Angkor Wat civilization, the weakening of the water management system due to societal changes prevented the implementation of effective adaptation policies, thus amplifying the impact of climate change.

Professor Erdkamp also diagnosed that political instability has historically accelerated the climate crisis. He argued that while the climate crisis and its catastrophic consequences originate from external factors such as environmental change, the absence or incompetence of political power leads to indifference to the dangers of climate change. Emphasizing that the climate crisis is an ecological warning to human society and that societies and nations that failed to establish effective adaptation policies faced the stern judgment of history in the form of collapse and decline, he stressed that the climate crisis is not merely an environmental issue but is directly linked to politics.

Following the lecture, an in-depth discussion was held with climate experts, including Professor Yong-Gu Cha (Department of History, Chung-Ang University) serving as chair, Dr. Won-Tae Kwon (former President of the APEC Climate Center), and Dr. Seong-Joong Kim (Vice President of the Korea Polar Research Institute). The discussion explored various topics, including the relationship between the Huns' migration and climate change in the decline of the Roman Empire, and the potential for historical examples of societal responses to disasters like floods to inform current climate change adaptation strategies. During the discussion, Professor Cha pointed out the ambivalent nature of eco-anxiety and climate anxiety, noting their potential to increase awareness of the climate crisis while also causing helplessness and depression, and emphasized the need to consider how to utilize these anxieties constructively.

This colloquium provided significant insights into understanding the current climate crisis through the lens of historical examples of societal responses to climate change and exploring diverse strategies for the sustainability of future societies.