3 RIP SDG? Are UN Sustainable Development Goals Enough to Save Us?
Planet in Crisis
As we face an urgent ecological crisis, a group of experts discuss whether the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development goals are a help, or a hindrance, in rising to the challenge. According to the UN, "The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. At its heart are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are an urgent call for action by all countries - developed and developing - in a global partnership. They recognize that...
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2 The Energy War and Climate Breakdown - Road to COP 27
Planet in Crisis
Cost of living crisis, global conflict, and climate breakdown - is a shift in our energy systems the solution to all of this? What does the recent Russia/Ukraine conflict tell us about our energy security? Is renewable energy the answer, or is there more to the equation? What should our energy systems look like in these times of unprecedented global change? Energy experts from science and industry discuss the changes that are rapidly required to secure humanity's safety on a local, national, and international level. Panelists also offer suggestions of what we can each do, as individuals, to...
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1 Climate Leadership Panel – Road to COP27
Planet in Crisis
What should leadership look like in these times of unprecedented global change? How can successful leadership mitigate a climate catastrophe? Where are we now – on the road to ruin or is there hope on the horizon? Scientists Warning Europe convened this panel of experts to hear what we need to see from leadership – at all levels – to respond to the climate crisis. At COP26 Scientists Warning Europe launched a new paper, the 'Scientists Warnings into Action'. It expanded on the six stressors identified in the previous three warnings of Nature, Population, Economy, Energy, Food and...
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Angus Rose on His Hunger Strike and Climate Action
Planet in Crisis
Climate activist and hunger-striker Angus Rose struck for 37 days without food, stationed outside the Houses of Parliament. He ended his hunger strike after being given a promise that all MPs will be offered a briefing on the climate emergency by UK Chief Scientific Advisor Sir Patrick Vallance. He shares his rationale and experience in this May, 2022 conversation with Scientists Warning Europe Managing Director Ed Gemmell. LINKS: Angus's letters and news updates Follow Angus on Twitter Video of this conversation Scientists Warning Europe presents and promotes science endorsed solutions...
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30 Mobilising Humanity Film Premier at COP26
Planet in Crisis
“The scientific world has researched and reported, peer-reviewed and presented report after report after report. Most scientists are quite frankly fed up.... Now is the time for moral courage and real leadership.” These are among the words of Ed Gemmell as he moderated this press conference at COP26. At this event, Scientists Warning Europe premiered its new film, Warning into Action: Mobilising Humanity. Gemmell was joined by Dr. Victoria Hurth, Fellow of University of Cambridge’s Institute for Sustainability Leadership, and Dr. Paul Behrens, researcher and science communicator at...
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29 Tribute to Stuart Scott - COP26 Press Conference
Planet in Crisis
Friends and colleagues pay tribute to the late Stuart Scott, who passed away on July 15, 2021 after a long battle with cancer. Scott’s efforts to put attention on World Scientists’ Warning to Humanity: Second Notice, led to the formation of the World Scientists’ Warning Foundation. This is audio from a press conference hosted by Scientists Warning Europe at COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland in November of 2021. From the Foundation’s website: “Stuart H. Scott was an American environmentalist and educator known for his creativity in communicating the urgency and severity of the impact...
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28 Food Systems with Helen Harwatt and Sunniva Sorby - COP26 Press Conference
Planet in Crisis
Our food system, as run today, is a major cause of the climate crisis. “We need to change production, we need to change consumption, and we need to change everything in the middle,” according to Sunniva Sorby. “Peak livestock” should be among our goals. Food systems and the climate crisis are discussed in this press conference held at COP26 in November of 2021. The panel includes Dr. Helen Harwatt, senior research fellow in the Energy, Environment and Resources programme at Chatham House, and arctic ice explorer Sunniva Sorby, co-founder of Hearts in the Ice, a social media project...
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27 Scientists Warning Into Action with Amelia Womack and Marianne Overton – Live at COP26
Planet in Crisis
Local government is at the heart of climate action. Local governments are closest to the citizens and need to pick up the pace of action that is far too slow at the national level. Among topics discussed are Boris Johnson’s COP26 opening speech. Scientists Warning Europe Managing Director Ed Gemmell led this conversation just outside the plenary room at COP 26 with Marianne Overton, vice chair of the Local Government Association and Amelia Womack, deputy leader of the Green Party of England. MORE INFO: World Scientists’ Warnings into Action, Local to Global Green Party of England Local...
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26 Nature Recovery with Seaspiracy Director Ali Tabrizi and Julia Davies
Planet in Crisis
Nature is in freefall decline. Complex, interdependent ecosystem processes - pollination, natural flood control and water purification – have been severely depleted by humanity. Some of the most major tropical and temperate forests are now carbon sources, instead of sinks. The biodiversity crisis extends to the seas. Nature’s decline, and what we need to do for it to recover, were the subjects of this press conference hosted by Scientists Warnings Europe at COP 26 in November of 2021. At the conference we heard from Julia Davies, founder of We Have The POWER and Ali Tabrizi, director of...
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25 Ecological Economics with Prof Tim Jackson: Scientists Warning into Action COP26 Press Conference
Planet in Crisis
Tim Jackson discusses the latest World Scientists Warning into Action paper and his paper, Net Zero Sooner, addressing the economics of carbon budgets. These are remarks made at the Scientists Warning Into Action press conference at COP26. Jackson is a noted British ecological economist and professor of sustainable development at the University of Surrey. Learn more about the Scientists Warning Into Action paper and sign it here: MORE INFO: World Scientists’ Warnings into Action, Local to Global World Scientists Recommend Urgent Actions for Survival of Civilization Zero...
info_outlineA panel of scientists examine the opportunities and thorny issues in converting to action the “nature” recommendations of the World Scientists Warning of a Climate Emergency.
The expert panel:
Prof. Phoebe Barnard is a board member of Scientists Warning Europe. Phoebe is chief science and policy officer at the Conservation Biology Institute, and affiliate full professor at the University of Washington. Phoebe has 26 years of deep experience on three continents, mainly in Africa, North America and Europe - founding and running national and bioregional programs, and helping to steer global ones.
Prof. Chris Rapley is a member of Scientists Warning Europe's Scientific Advisory Panel. He is professor of Climate Science at University College London. He is a Fellow of UCL and of St Edmund's College Cambridge, a member of the Academia Europaea, Chair-elect of the European Science Foundation’s European Space Sciences Committee, Member of the Advisory Board of the UK government’s Clean Growth Fund, a member of the UK Science Museum Group’s Science Advisory Board and a member of the UK Parliamentary and Scientific Committee. His previous posts include Director of the Science Museum, Director of the British Antarctic Survey, Chairman of the London Climate Change Partnership, President of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, Executive Director of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme, and Distinguished Visiting Scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. More recently he has focused on the role of climate scientists in delivering value to society through decision making, public policy and more effective communication. He is Chair of the UCL Policy Commission on Communicating Climate Science. More recently Prof Rapley was the Science Consultant on BBC1’s ‘Climate Change – The Facts’ presented by Sir David Attenborough. In 2003 Prof Rapley was appointed CBE by Her Majesty the Queen.
Dr. Mao Amis is the co-founder and Executive Director of the African Centre for a Green Economy (AfriCGE) and Adjunct Associate Professor, at the Graduate School of Business, University of Cape Town. AfriCGE is a non-profit think tank and capacity building organisation based in South Africa. Prior to founding AfriCGE, Dr. Amis worked as programme Manager for WWF South Africa. Dr Amis has extensive experience on Green Growth issues in Africa and has consulted and collaborated with various organisations such as IFPRI, the New Economics Foundation (NEF), CORAF, and others. He is currently leading a project to establish the first new economy innovation hub in South Africa.
In the World Scientists Warning of a Climate Emergency, published on 5 November 2019, the following recommendation for "Nature" was made: "We must protect and restore Earth’s ecosystems. Phytoplankton, coral reefs, forests, savannas, grasslands, wetlands, peatlands, soils, mangroves, and sea grasses contribute greatly to sequestration of atmospheric CO2. Marine and terrestrial plants, animals, and microorganisms play significant roles in carbon and nutrient cycling and storage. We need to quickly curtail habitat and biodiversity loss, protecting the remaining primary and intact forests, especially those with high carbon stores and other forests with the capacity to rapidly sequester carbon (proforestation), while increasing reforestation and afforestation where appropriate at enormous scales. Although available land may be limiting in places, up to a third of emissions reductions needed by 2030 for the Paris agreement (less than 2°C) could be obtained with these natural climate solutions."
Scientists Warning Europe presents and promotes science endorsed solutions which will lead to a just transition for our World to a sustainable and equitable future. Learn more, sign up for updates, and support our work at https://www.scientistswarningeurope.org.uk
This podcast series is made possible through the generous help of the GrowthBusters podcast about limits to growth.
LINKS:
World Scientists’ Warnings into Action, Local to Global
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00368504211056290
Scientists Warning Europe
https://scientistswarningeurope.org.uk/
All Three World Scientists’ Warnings
https://scientistswarningeurope.org.uk/warnings
Planet in Crisis Pre-COP Video Series
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyl1v07bfIaLHtXjYBtaca3YdlPaKC9Vx
African Centre for a Green Economy
http://www.africege.org/
Dr. Phoebe Barnard
https://www.phoebebarnard.com/conservation-writing-filmmaking
Mentioned by Phoebe Barnard: Innovative financing mechanisms for carbon-friendly conservation are found, for example, at Blue Forest: https://www.blueforest.org/
If you’re interested in starting up a Scientists Warning group on your continent, please reach out to us at https://www.scientistswarningeurope.org.uk/contact
GrowthBusters podcast
http://www.growthbusters.org/podcast/
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