On March 20th, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its sixth Assessment Report regarding climate change. Their message is clear;
- Human activities, principally through emissions of greenhouse gases, have unequivocally caused global warming.
- Climate-related risks to health, livelihoods, food security, water supply, human security, and economic growth are projected to increase with global warming of 1.5°C.
- The 10% of households with the highest per capita emissions contribute 34–45% of global consumption-based household GHG emissions, while the middle 40% contribute 40–53%, and the bottom 50% contribute 13–15%.
Read the Assessment Report in full, IPCC (PDF)
With the report as a background, SLU Global and SLU’s Future Platforms invited everyone interested to a seminar with emphasis on science communication and public perception.
How can research be communicated? What role does communication play when it comes to climate change? And what works best, stories or facts in order to get people to take more climate action?
Target group
All who are interested in this topic.
Speakers
Flora Hajdu, SLU
Flora Hajdu is a professor at the Department of Urban and Rural Development. Together with Linda Engström, they developed Social benefits from carbon forestry, which is a guide to assess social benefits from projects that aim to store carbon through tree planting, restoration or forest conservation.
Floras research interests include various aspects of the changing and dynamic livelihoods and socio-economic situations of rural inhabitants, and the processes, events and policies affecting them.
Currently, she is involved in the research project ”We are planting trees in Africa”: Swedish discourses and local effects of carbon forestry projects in African localities.
Peter Newell, University of Sussex
Peter Newell is a professor at the Department of International Relations, University of Sussex. Peter Newell will talk on behavioral shifts and how researchers can more effectively leverage them.
Peter is also the co-founder of the Rapid Transition Alliance, a network of international organisations that are engaged in practical work, research and campaigning to tackle the climate emergency.
A selection of his recent publications include Building a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty: Key Elements, More than a metaphor: Climate colonialism in perspective and Pathways to an International Agreement to Leave Fossil Fuels in the Ground.
Brandi S. Morris, Aarhus University
Before earning her PhD, Brandi Shaw Morris oversaw the development, testing, and execution of evidence-based communication and engagement strategies as a consultant in the private sector for over 18 years. Currently an Assistant Professor at Aarhus University, Brandi is studying the underlying mechanisms of how stories exert their influence on behavior through emotion, identity, and values.
Her interdisciplinary work is mainly at the intersection of neuroscience, psychology, and communication with a focus on pro-social behavior, sustainability and climate change. She will talk on the topic "Using stories to move the needle on climate change: evidence-based strategies".
Moderator
Dr. Paul Egan is a researcher at SLU and research officer advisor at SLU Global. His research focuses on food security, and in particular how to ensure more climate-resilient modes of pest and pollinator management for smallholder farmers. He has explored practical and policy solutions for adaptation in Nepal, as well as low-income countries generally, in collaboration with UNESCO, FAO, and CGIAR.
