Climate change experts to launch SELS 2015

Published On Tue 3 Feb 2015 by Grant Hill

Climate change will be on the agenda at the University of Dundee this weekend when a panel of international experts on the subject launch this year’s Saturday Evening Lecture Series (SELS).

The flagship series will begin its 2015 run on Saturday when Professor Karen O’Brien (University of Oslo), Professor Laura Lindenfeld (University of Maine) and Paul Ryan (Director of the Australian Resilience Centre) join Dundee’s Professor Ioan Fazey to discuss the ways in which societies can respond in order to deal effectively with climate change.

SELS is Scotland's oldest continuous free public lecture series and attracts thousands of people each year eager to hear from prestigious, world-class speakers. The ‘Winds of Change: Rethinking the way we respond to a changing climate’ event will be followed by a further five talks between February and May.

Professor Fazey said, “I am delighted to be welcoming prestigious colleagues from across the globe to Dundee and for us to have the privilege of leading the first Saturday Evening lecture of 2015.

“Our changing climate is a result of the way modern human societies operate, the way our economies are structured, our dependency on oil and carbon intensive technology and the way we live and think.  Although the implications of rising global temperatures are hard to imagine, sometimes it is just as hard to imagine how we will get to a world that is equitable and sustainable, especially at the rate and scale called for by climate change science. 

“We will be discussing the ways in which societies can respond in order to deal effectively with climate change. We will visualise what a world that responds effectively to climate change might look like, the kinds of ways in which new thinking can lead to the societal changes necessary to rise to the climate challenge and the importance of collaboration, networks, and linking sustainability initiatives.”

The ‘Winds of Change: Rethinking the way we respond to a changing climate’ takes place at the Dalhousie Building, Old Hawkhill, from 6pm on Saturday, 7th February. The event will be followed by a drinks reception.

For more information visit the Events Office website at http://www.dundee.ac.uk/events.   

Free tickets for all lectures are available from the University’s Tower Building reception, by calling 01382 385108, visiting www.dundee.ac.uk/tickets or emailing events@dundee.ac.uk.

For media enquiries contact:
Grant Hill
Press Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384768
E-MAIL: g.hill@dundee.ac.uk
MOBILE: 07854 953277