On October 14th, the IEAT will hold the roundtable “Science, Society, and Climate” as part of the UFMG Knowledge Week 2025 activities. The event will take place in Auditorium 101 of the UFMG Center for Didactic Activities 3 (CAD3) at 9:30 a.m. Certificates will be issued to those who register through the Even3 platform and sign the attendance list on the day of the event.

The panel will feature IEAT resident professors Bruno Souza Leal of the Department of Social Communication (Fafich), Eduardo Magalhães Ribeiro of the Institute of Agricultural Sciences (ICA), Fabrício Rodrigues dos Santos of the Department of Genetics, Ecology, and Evolution (ICB), and Marcelo Azevedo Costa of the Department of Production Engineering (School of Engineering). Professor Luciana Diniz Silva of the Department of Clinical Medicine (School of Medicine) will moderate the discussion.

Climate change poses an urgent and existential threat to humanity, with devastating consequences for the entire planet, from terrestrial environments to the oceans. The roundtable “Science, Society, and Climate” will present four reflections on this increasingly ubiquitous phenomenon.

The exhibition “Climate, Genetics, and History” will discuss the contributions of genetics in conjunction with other areas of climate science. Through genetic evidence, it is possible to reconstruct the history of biodiversity and the human species in relation to past climate change, with examples linking climate to the demographic fluctuations of native species and the spatial mobility of ancient indigenous populations in response to climate extremes.

Next, the exhibition “The Naturalization of Catastrophe” considers the narratives that transform climate catastrophes into recurring, everyday events. Being complex events, these events are marked by contradictory vectors, such as naturalization, stunnedness, caution, the perception of the end of the world, and the search for ways to cope, which contradict and intertwine.

The third exhibition will address the theme “Availability and Quality of Climate Data,” highlighting how this information can be used to estimate impacts on the Brazilian energy sector. The goal is to ensure tariff affordability, allowing consumers to pay affordable and fair rates for public services, especially in the electricity sector.

The final exhibition will feature the theme “Metamorphoses of Weather,” highlighting how climate change disrupts traditional forecasting systems, compromising their ability to provide security for everyday planning.

Knowledge Week 2025

The 2025 edition of UFMG’s Knowledge Week has the theme “From the Sea to the Backlands: Science, Territorialities, and Climate Justice.” This year’s program will run from October 13th to 17th at the Pampulha campus in Belo Horizonte, and at the Montes Claros campus, activities will take place from September 29th to October 3rd. The full program can be accessed online.