Press release
The climate emergency: local responses to a global menace
Published on 5 March 2020
The climate emergency and how everyone has the power to make a positive contribution to it will be explored at a public lecture at the University of Dundee next week.
The climate emergency and how everyone has the power to make a positive contribution to it will be explored at a public lecture at the University of Dundee next week.
‘The climate emergency: local responses to a global menace’ is the first event in this year’s Saturday Series and will see a panel of University experts demonstrate how their work is helping the fight against climate change. The event takes place at the Dalhousie Building on Saturday 14 March.
Professor John Rowan, Vice-Principal (Research, Knowledge Exchange and Wider Impact) at Dundee, will chair the event. He will be joined by Professor Glyn Bengough, Professor Sue Dawson, Dr Petra Minnerop and Professor Mel Woods, to discuss the global impact of local actions from the perspectives of science, law and design.
“This is a timely and important event because the scale of the climate emergency is such that we must all take positive actions now,” said Professor Rowan. “There is no silver bullet that will stop climate change in its tracks and the array of speakers at this event demonstrates the range of approaches necessary if we are to succeed.
“Across the University there are teams and individual researchers working to find solutions to the biggest issues of our times, and the climate emergency is top of the World Health Organisation’s list of major threats to global health. As an environmental change researcher myself, I am particularly looking forward to hearing more about how our University experts, each with different skills, are engaging with the fight, and what individuals and local communities can do to help.”
Glyn Bengough is a Professor of Biosystems Engineering within the University’s School of Science and Engineering. His main research interests are in using plants to develop sustainable engineering solutions, and in applying engineering and biophysical methods to solve biological problems.
Professor Dawson is Head of Geography and Environmental Science at Dundee and a hazard geoscientist with expertise in extreme coastal change including tsunamis and storms. Her research examines the risk and impact of tsunamis and the potential for an increase in this hazard as a result of climate change.
The main focus of Dr Minnerop’s research is in International Environmental Law, and she has published widely on climate protection agreements. She is a Lecturer in Law at Dundee, a member of the IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law, and an international adviser on the subject.
Mel Woods is Professor of Creative Intelligence at the University’s Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design. She leads the award-winning Grow Observatory, a soil monitoring study which empowered thousands of volunteers across Europe to tackle environmental issues by bringing about change in their local communities.
‘The climate emergency: local responses to a global menace’ is the first event of the 2020 Saturday Series, the oldest continuous free series of public talks in Scotland.