Building Capability to Mitigate Climate Change: The Quest for HRD Professionals

Abstract: Abstract
The Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change’s latest report (IPCC, 2023) noted that climate change is a threat to human well-being and planetary health and only thorough transformative systematic change that incorporates community ownership and indigenous knowledge will we be able to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius and avoid its dangerous consequences. In the three decades since the Rio Summit and the launch of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Conference of the Parties to the Convention (COP) has convened member countries every year to review the national communications and emission inventories submitted by Parties. Based on this information, the COP assesses the effects of the measures taken by Parties and the progress made in achieving the ultimate objective of the Convention (United Nations Climate Change, n.d. Para 2).
The 21st session of the COP (COP21) led to the Paris Agreement, which mobilized global collective action to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels by 2100, and to act to adapt to the already existing effects of climate change (United Nations, 2022). The IPCC (2023) report noted that to mitigate climate change adaptive governance, lifestyle and behavioral changes and innovative financing mechanisms are needed. Although examples of sustainable development practices have been recorded, drawing on bottom-up approaches and using indigenous knowledge would effectively engage and protect vulnerable people and communities and prevent maladaptations.
Mitigating climate change requires significant paradigm shifts (e.g., to long-term thinking, development and use of renewable energy sources, of circular economy, of sustainable agriculture and diet, etc.) and a shift from short-term outcomes to long-term benefits. Climate change has the potential to disrupt ecosystems, economies, and societies in unprecedented ways and poses one of the most significant threads to sustainability. As highlighted by O’Brien (2018), climate change is an adaptive challenge with practical, political, and personal dimensions. Despite the complexities of climate change, Hochachka (2021) noted that adaptation is still reactive, incremental and focused on biophysical and techno-managerial changes. The author, building on previous work (O’Brien & Hochachka, 2010), proposes an adaptation framework, which integrates subjective and objective adaptive capabilities, and is comprised of the following four types of adaptation: personal, practical, critical-structural, and co-generative. This framework together with change through the lens of complexity theory (Cseh & Coningham, 2019), identity process theory, and social representation theory (Breakwell, 2010, Jaspal & Breakwell, 2014) informed this study.
The purpose of this poster sessions is to discuss the conceptualization and preliminary findings of a qualitative study designed to understand the perceptions of HRD professionals leading climate change initiatives in their organizations of 1) the relationship between climate change and sustainability; and (2) their approaches to capability building for global climate change mitigation and adaptation. Data will be collected using in-depth interviews and documents and will be analyzed using constant comparative analysis and content analysis.
It has been eight years since the special issue on Green HRD was published (Scully-Russ & Cseh, 2015). In this issue, Sadler-Smith (2015) discussed the important role of HRD professionals to mitigate climate change by enabling pro-environmental behavior change through individual learning and development, and organizational development and change interventions. McGuire and Germain (2015) also noted the important educational role of HRD practitioners in improving the training and awareness of individuals on environmental issues and in introducing innovative environmental practices. Although Hermes and Rimanoczy (2018) presented a conceptual model for developing a sustainability mindset and its application in pedagogical contexts, and Jang and Ardichvili (2020) discussed the roles HRD professionals play in corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability initiatives in multinational companies, the relationship between climate change and sustainability and the role of HRD in climate change mitigation and adaptation need further attention.
Given the nature of the HRD profession, and the humanistic values that guide its practice, HRD professionals must play a crucial role in leading climate change initiatives by 1) fostering continuous learning about climate change through education and training and green leadership development initiatives; and 2) creating environments that lead to behavior and lifestyle changes through sustainability policies, advocacy, and external partnerships. Conclusions and recommendations for HRD scholarship and practice will be presented at the conference.
Keywords: capability building, climate change, HRD