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Week of events unite communities towards climate action

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Communities and academics around the world will be provoked and inspired by the Global Climate Change Week 2020 theme If not now, when? If not you, who? and a raft of public events during 19-25 October.

The University of Tasmania has taken stewardship of the fast-growing Global Climate Change Week initiative from 2020 until 2025, inclusive.

The University ranked third worldwide when the Times Higher Education University Impact Rankings assessed 376 institutions against the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals earlier this year.

“UTAS really is the perfect home for Global Climate Change Week because we tend to be leaders in the field across operational sustainability in universities – how we manage campuses – and also research,” co-ordinating committee co-chair Dr Kim Beasy said.

“Global Climate Change Week has almost a galvanising effect, bringing all of our disparate parts together.”

The initiative aims to bring academic communities together to engage with the broader population on a problem still as pressing as COVID-19.

Started five years ago by two academics at the University of Wollongong, the week will feature nearly 200 public lectures, panel discussions and arts activities on almost every continent.

“We have universities from all over the world registered and a whole range of diverse and interesting activities that are limited only by the imaginations of the people involved,” co-chair Professor Fred Gale said.

“We want to make sure there is action on climate change around the world at university level. It’s a critical issue. We’ve got a decade to turn this around.”

A range of activities will take place around the University of Tasmania, including the online webinar Living in a Changing Climate with an all-alumni panel of criminologist Prof Rob White, human geographer Dr Kate Booth, physical geographer Dr Vishnu Prahalad and chair Christine Milne.

Event organiser Dr Booth said the presentation of the University’s research would allow audience members to make up their own minds on the issue.

“The foregrounding of scientific knowledge is really important in the climate change debate and climate change action,” she said.

“There’s also another role for academics in this context to articulate, provide language, for understanding different phenomena and ideas and debates, to provide people with insights that allow them to unpack what’s going on around them in public debate.”

The program includes the following University of Tasmania events (in Australian Eastern Standard Time):

The full program is available on the Global Climate Change Week events webpage