COP26 talks: climate science, policy and education

With COP26 talks due to start this weekend, we brought together colleagues from our own University to talk about climate science, policy and education.

This was the first in a series of four talks reflecting how our world-leading research is contributing to climate policy and climate action, and how our institutional policies and actions are contributing to our community, campus and local environment.

Phil Newton, the Research Dean for Environment, hosted the session – which feature Professors Nigel Arnell and Andrew Charlton-Perez from Meteorology, Associate Professor Nasreen Majid and Dan James from the Institute of Education and Dawn Aggas and Fiona Blair from Marketing, Communication and Engagement.

Opening the session, Paul Newton said, “The University of Reading will have a significant involvement in COP26. We will be there physically and we will be there virtually. Notably, the Walker Institute has a formal involvement as well”.

Nigel Arnell’s presentation focused on the origins of COP26, its work and why this is important, how the science fits into this and what are some of the challenges.

Andrew Charlton-Perez, Nasreen Majid, Dan James, Dawn Aggas and Fi Blair spoke about the outcomes and next steps from the Climate Education Summit.

A video recording of the event can be accessed below

The video can also be accessed directly on Microsoft Stream.

The upcoming talks in the series are:

Tues 2 November – Changing the curriculum and using research to inform our thinking

• Professor Amanda Callaghan (Biological Sciences): Greening the curriculum
• Deepa Senapathi (Agriculture): Balancing biodiversity conservation with food security needs

Chair: Professor Parveen Yaqoob, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research & Innovation)

Thursday 4 November – Changing the way we live

• Professor Kathy Pain (Real Estate and Planning): Sustainability in the future city 
• Dan Fernbank (Energy & Sustainability Director): Sustainability on campus: Net zero carbon by 2030

Chair: Adrian Bell, Research Dean (Prosperity & Resilience)

Thursday 11 November – Reflections on COP26 and action at local level

• Speaker TBC: Reflections on COP26
• Professor Tim Dixon (Built Environment): Local action for climate change

Professor Dominik Zaum, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research & Innovation)

All talks will take place from 1300 to 1350 on Teams. An invite will be sent closer to the time.