Seminar: Global Famine After Nuclear War

This seminar will examine how the climatic consequences of nuclear war could trigger a severe, prolonged disruption of global food systems—well beyond the immediate devastation in the conflict zones. Drawing on Prof. Alan Robock’s long-standing research on “nuclear winter,” the talk highlights how smoke from large-scale urban fires can spread globally, reduce sunlight, cool the Earth for years, and destabilize agriculture and fisheries. Recent modeling studies emphasize that the resulting shocks to crop, livestock, and marine production can translate into widespread food insecurity and famine risk at a planetary scale.
Building on these scientific findings and the broader narrative developed in his recent book Earth in Flames: How an Asteroid Killed the Dinosaurs and How We Can Avoid a Similar Fate From Nuclear Winter (with Owen Brian Toon), the seminar aims to connect climate science with risk governance and policy discussions on nuclear weapons and global catastrophic risk. By bringing together researchers and practitioners working across climate, impacts, and international policy, the event provides a forum to consider what the latest science implies for preparedness, prevention, and international cooperation.

– Alan Robock is a Distinguished Professor of climate science in the Department of Environmental Sciences at Rutgers University. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, in 1970 with a B.A. in Meteorology, and from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with an S.M. in 1974 and Ph.D. in 1977, both in Meteorology. Before graduate school, he served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Philippines. He was a professor at the University of Maryland, 1977-1997, and the State Climatologist of Maryland, 1991-1997, before coming to Rutgers in 1998. Prof. Robock was a Lead Author of the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

– Taikan Oki is Special Advisor to the President and Professor at the Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo. He previously served as Senior Vice-Rector of the United Nations University and UN Assistant Secretary-General (2016–2021). His expertise focuses on climate change impacts on global hydrology and the sustainability of world water resources. Currently a Coordinating Lead Author (CLA) for the IPCC WGII AR7, he also served as CLA for AR5. His many honors include the International Hydrology
Prize (Dooge Medal), John Dalton Medal (EGU), Medal with Purple Ribbon, and the Stockholm Water Prize.

– Tatsujiro Suzuki is President of a non-profit organization “Peace Depot” and a Visiting Professor of Research Center for Nuclear Weapons Abolition at Nagasaki University (RECNA), Japan. Before joining RECNA, he was a Vice Chairman of Japan Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC) of the Cabinet office from January 2010 to March 2014. He is a Council Member of Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs (2007-09 and from 2014~), co-chair of International Panel on Fissile Materials (IPFM), also a non-resident Senior Fellow at UN Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) since 2024. Dr. Suzuki has a PhD in nuclear engineering from Tokyo University (1988).

– Masahiro (Masa) Sugiyama is a Professor at the Institute for Future Initiatives (IFI), the University of Tokyo. His expertise lies in long-term climate policy, with research focusing on climate and energy scenario analysis and the governance of climate engineering from a public engagement perspective. He is a Coordinating Lead Author for Working Group III of the IPCC Seventh Assessment Report. Prof. Sugiyama has also served on the Harvard SCoPEx Advisory Committee and is a member of GESAMP Working Group 41 on Ocean Interventions for Climate Change Mitigation. He holds a Ph.D. in climate science and a master’s degree in technology and policy from MIT.

Secretariat of the Seminar: Global Famine After Nuclear War
Email: sugiyama-staff★ifi.u-tokyo.ac.jp (★→@)