In December 2015 nearly 200 nations gathered in Paris to agree the climate change pact.

'Global Conversation' takes key issue of climate change to London

The latest research on the impact of climate change on global issues including security, flooding, migration and risk of conflict will be shared by leading Exeter experts at a special event in London.

Internationally-acclaimed climate scientists from the University of Exeter and the Met Office will gather to explore the implications of the recent global pact to reduce greenhouse emissions and curb warming to less than 2°C by the end of the century.

The high-profile event on Tuesday 2 February at the Royal Society, London is the latest in a series of worldwide lectures organised by the University of Exeter, called Global Conversation, which showcase some of the latest developments in world-leading research.

In December 2015 nearly 200 nations gathered in Paris to agree the climate change pact, and whilst it is widely welcomed as an aspiration, scientists question how feasible it will be to achieve. In "Extreme Global Warming: A World Beyond 2°C?" Professor Richard Betts (Chair in Climate Impacts) and Professor Tim Lenton (Chair in Climate Change/Earth Systems Science) will present the latest science from the University and the Met Office that is exploring the impact climate change could have on key global issues such as food, water, energy security, flooding, health, migration and risk of conflict.

Speaking ahead of the event Professor Richard Betts said, “In a complex system such as the climate, predicting future outcomes is hard – but it’s important to try to assess the risks. Despite the Paris Agreement aiming to limit global warming, further change is already in the pipeline and we will need to learn to live with that. Our research looks at high-end climate change, to help society decide which risks are unacceptable and to plan ahead for unavoidable change.”

Professor Tim Lenton said, “Our research has identified ‘climate tipping points’ such as dieback of the Amazon rainforest and reorganisation of the Atlantic ocean circulation, and has found they get more likely as temperature increases. The optimal policy response should be to work very hard to reduce CO2 emissions and limit global warming to around 1.5C to try and avoid these tipping points.”

Climate experts including Jason Lowe (Met Office), Kirsty Lewis (Met Office) and Stephen Rumsey (Permian Global) will join a panel discussion and Q&A on the evening.

The event will be live tweeted from @UofE_Research using #UoEGlobalConvo from 6pm UK time on 2 February and live streamed on Periscope: watch on the app or at https://periscope.tv/Uofe_research

A #UoEGlobalConvo live Twitter Q&A with Professor Tim Lenton and Professor Richard Betts will also take place on February 3 at 9am UK time from @UofE_Research, submit a question and join in the Q&A using #AskClimate.

Introduced in March 2015 with two events in Hong Kong, the Global Conversation series explores how the University of Exeter, working in collaboration with its partners across the world, is having an impact on many of the shared global challenges we face. Events in the series focus on common issues and problems, from Tackling Dementia to Water Security, and encourage conversation between experts in their fields, guests and a wider public audience.

Launching Global Conversation, Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive Professor Sir Steve Smith said: “We want to share our thinking and our world-leading research, to open up discussion and debate around these issues. By stimulating conversation between our academics and other leading experts in their fields, we can make a positive contribution to our collective global understanding of issues which affect us all.”

For more information regarding these, and other lectures in the Global Conversation series, please visit the Global Conversation webpage at www.exeter.ac.uk/globalconversation

Date: 1 February 2016