It’s our future, not theirs

Last month, Warwick welcomed a number of speakers, academics and activists for its annual Climate Forum, an event designed to offer a platform for debate and discussion on the issue of climate change.

As you may have noticed, climate change is a particularly big issue at the moment. Despite what some climate change deniers might claim, 97 percent of climate scientists agree that global warming is a direct result of human activity. Over the next few decades, the increase in global temperature will inevitably result in a variety of environmental disasters such as flooding, droughts and the extinction for many species of plants and animals. Despite this rather bleak outlook, many of us are happy to ignore the oncoming threat of climate change or feel powerless to do anything about it.

Warwick’s Climate Forum aims to address this issue and inspire a generation of students to take action in this pivotal moment in history. During this year’s introductory talk, the attendees were told that “the most common way people give up their power is by believing that they don’t have any”— an Alice Walker quote which highlights the importance of hosting a conference that aims to empower students and inspire them to tackle the problem of climate change.

Previous years’ Climate Forums each addressed a particular issue surrounding climate change. In 2012 for instance, the conference debated the role of technology in the struggle to fix the damage caused by the effects of global warming. In 2014, the forum revolved around a particular debate, which was whether positive action is achievable in the current market framework. This year’s theme however was titled ‘It’s our future, not theirs’ and aimed to address the “power shift necessary in assuring a stable climate for generations to come”. What followed was a day of engaging speakers, panels and workshops designed to both address the complexities of climate change and motivate the student audience to act now, rather than leaving it for future generations to deal with.

The event began with an introductory video from environmentalist Bill McKibben, the author of several books on the climate change (such as The End of Nature) and founder of 350.org, a global organization that aims to reduce CO₂ emissions by raising awareness of anthropogenic climate change. In his video, he acknowledged how this gathering of speakers and students “couldn’t be more important”, especially considering how our political systems have responded “feebly” to the challenge of climate change. He expressed the importance of building movements to campaign against the oil and coal industries by saying “Their thing is money. Our thing is passion, spirit, creativity, numbers”.

The first part of the event featured a variety of speakers, each of whom focused on a particular aspect of climate change. Joanna Haigh (professor of atmospheric physics at Imperial College London) was the first speaker and set out to highlight the often complex and noisy science behind climate change and disprove the concept that global warming is just a natural process. She cited examples in the media where this particular belief had been expressed, such as a Boris Johnson column in which questioned the existence of anthropogenic global warming and argued that solar activity may be solely responsible instead. Haigh quickly dismissed such ideas and provided an in-depth analysis highlighting why climate change is indeed a direct result of human activity.

Another speaker was political commentator Neal Lawson who focused less on science but instead explored why human beings are forced into being consumers in a capitalist society. As he stated in his engaging talk, we identify ourselves and each other through consumption – for instance, the clothes we buy and the devices that we purchase. Lawson went on to argue that this consumerism lifestyle has trapped us like “donkeys being led by a carrot” and, as a result, it has prevented us from acting upon the issue of climate change. He stressed the importance of having public spaces where people can discuss and debate important issues, and emphasized the need of presenting an alternative lifestyle outside of the entrapment of consumerism and shopping.

Among the other speakers were notable people of varying backgrounds and positions, including Jacqueline McGlade (the chief scientist of the United Nations Environment Programme), solicitor Chris Haan and Charles Sheppard, a professor of Marine Biology from the University of Warwick who talked about how euphemisms disguise the real crisis of climate change – for instance, how the phrase “soil improvement” actually refers to flattening habitat for foundations. The diverse nature of the speakers allowed for a really insightful glimpse into the core issues and problems that surround climate change and further emphasized that this is an issue that can be addressed in a number of different ways.

The Climate Forum also held a number of workshops, one of which was hosted by Art Not Oil, a movement who campaign against oil companies through theatrical activism and protest. One of their members, a group called Liberate Tate, use performance art to protest against BP’s sponsorship of Tate Galleries. In 2011, a naked man curled up in a foetal position on the floor was covered in oil in the middle of Tate Modern as part of their campaign against BP. The year after, they sent a wind turbine blade to the gallery. For this year’s Climate Forum, Art Not Oil hosted an insightful and engaging workshop into how theatrical activism can be used to capture the public’s interest and take on the big oil companies.

Another particularly interesting workshop was hosted by David Saddington, an influential climate change activist who has spoken at local TEDx events. His ‘Why I Don’t Care About Climate Change’ workshop was dedicated to the problem of how to deal with climate change deniers. In groups, we were encouraged to picture a typical denier, highlight ways in which climate change affects his or her life, and come up with methods to engage our denier with the issue of global warming. Through these activities, Saddington emphasized his belief that we should “stop shouting about the science of climate change” and start educating about how it will affect people individually in order to engage stubborn and uninformed deniers.

Finally, the Climate Forum also featured a number of panels that discussed especially important issues in solving the problems associated with climate change. The first panel, chaired by Jonathan Cave (a senior tutor in Economics here at Warwick), debated the economics of climate change and whether a reinvention of our economies is needed for positive action to be achieved. One point that was addressed was whether we should implement a global carbon price, which is the amount that must be paid for the right to emit one tonne of CO₂ into the atmosphere.

The second panel, chaired by Alex Clark, explored what the future holds, not only for the planet but also for environmental activism and attitudes towards climate change in general. Both panels were very interesting and offered an insight into the key debates and arguments at the heart of environmental activism and politics that some members of the audience might not have been aware of before.

Overall, this years’ Climate Forum was an engaging and insightful success. Despite the bleak and depressing outlook that climate change promises for the future, the variety of speakers and guests provided an incentive for students to get involved with environmentalism, and also a sense of hope that positive action can be achieved despite almost overwhelming obstacles. If you are in any way interested in the issue of climate change and the future of our species, then you owe it to yourself to attend next year’s Climate Forum and get involved. After all, it’s our future.