Public Meeting—Climate Change
Kevin Anderson, Mike Childs and Dave Coleman address our public meeting, says Cat
Keeping the global average temperature rise below 2 degrees is not possible with our current rate of carbon emissions, and under 4 degrees would be a struggle—this was the stark picture painted at our first public meeting for the year.
Over 30 people crammed into the Green Fish’s meeting room to hear the latest research findings on climate change and what we can do practically in Manchester. After a typically adroit and sobering presentation from Professor Kevin Anderson, Director of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change, who painted a bleak picture of the scale of the challenge we face, the crestfallen audience was assured by Mike Childs of Friends of the Earth and Dave Coleman of Cooler Projects that action, both at a national and
personal level, could achieve the levels of carbon reduction needed to slow climate change. Mike talked about the campaigns that Friends of the Earth are running over the next year and the vital influence that individuals, when they work together, can have on the political system. Dave talked about one Manchester response to the challenge in the Manchester Carbon Literacy Project he is heading. The floor then opened up for lively debate and discussion, with questions ranging from the role of developing countries to opinion as to what might be the most useful interventions.
The event was the group’s first open public meeting for 2012, replacing the traditional monthly full group meeting. The plan is to host a variety of engaging public events, every second month, that introduce a wider audience to environmental issues and the group’s activities. For details on upcoming events please see our website. Got a great idea for a speaker? Please let us know!
