Pre-Conference EPC Workshop

Climate Demography: Population Dynamics in a Changing Climate

Bologna, Italy, June 03, 2026

June 3rd, 13:30–17:00
Plesso Belmeloro F
Via Beniamino Andreatta, 8, 40126 Bologna BO, Italy
Bologna, Italy
Pre-conference event of the European Population Conference (EPC) 2026

Please sign up here by May 15, 2026.

Description

This Pre-Conference EPC Workshop on Climate Demography will take place on Wednesday, 3 June 2026 from 13:30 to 17:00 at Plesso Belmeloro F in Bologna, as part of the official pre-conference programme of the European Population Conference 2026.

Climate change is increasingly recognised as a driver of demographic change, with far-reaching implications for population health, mortality, fertility, migration, and social inequality. Environmental stressors, including extreme temperatures, air pollution, wildfires, floods, and other climate-related hazards, interact with social, economic, and institutional contexts to shape demographic outcomes in uneven ways across populations and places.

The workshop is conceived as a network event bringing together researchers interested in the demographic dimensions of climate change. It aims to create a dedicated space for exchange on theoretical frameworks, data usage, and methodological approaches shaping this expanding area of research to foster collaboration across institutions. Also, it aims to discuss the organization of future similar events with interested participants.

The workshop will have keynotes from Roman Hoffmann (International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis - Vienna, Austria), Mary Abed Al Ahad (Associate Lecturer in Population and Health Geography St.Andrews University) and Alexander De Sherbinin (Director and a Senior Research Scientist at the Center for Integrated Earth System Information, Columbia University). Also, we will host a meet the editors session with Raya Muttarak (Co-Editor of Population Development Review, Bocconi University and University of Bologna),  Alexander De Sherbinin (Editor of Frontiers in Climate, Director and a Senior Research Scientist at the Center for Integrated Earth System Information, Columbia University) and Timothy Adair (Editor of Population Health Metrics, University of Melbourne).

After the keynotes we plan to engage in discussions that will centre on topics related to climate demography such as:

• Climate impacts on mortality, fertility, migration, and population health
• Extreme temperatures, air pollution, wildfires, floods, and compound risks
• Social inequalities in exposure, vulnerability, and adaptive capacity
• Demographic structures and behaviours shaping climate risk
• Institutional and policy responses to climate-related demographic change
• Advances in geospatial, longitudinal, and causal inference methods

Schedule

13:30–13:40 Welcome and introduction
Opening remarks and working group description

13:40–14:20 Keynote 1: Alexander De Sherbinin
Habitability, Climate Justice, and Climate Mobility 

14:20–15:00 Keynote 2: Mary Abed Al Ahad
Air Pollution and Health 

15:00–15:30 Coffee break 

15:30–16:10 Keynote 3: Roman Hoffmann
Populations in the Age of the Climate Crisis 

16:00–16:40 Session 4: Meet the Editors
With Raya Muttarak, Timothy Adair  and Alexander De Sherbinin – Population and Development Review, Population Health Metrics and Frontiers in Climate

16:40–17:00 Open discussion
Next events and collaborations

In case of question please feel free to reach out to climatedemography@gmail.com or  contekeivabu@demogr.mpg.de or jasmin.abdelghany@nuffield.ox.ac.uk

Convenors

Raya Muttarak (University of Bologna, Bocconi University) | Risto Conte Keivabu (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research) | Jasmin Abdel Ghany (Nuffield College/University of Oxford) | Tobias Rüttenauer (University College London) | Emilio Zagheni (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research) | Maria Rubio-Cabañez (Centre d'Estudis Demogràfics Barcelona)