Do you know about the “People’s Emergency Briefing”?
Maidenhead residents are invited to attend a community screening
Last November, over a thousand people attended an event in Central Hall, Westminster, entitled The National Emergency Briefing on Climate & Nature. Senior figures attending were drawn from many walks of life – e.g. business, faith, politics, civil service, academia and the arts – and there were many famous faces in the audience including actress Jennifer Saunders, business guru Deborah Meaden and chef and campaigner Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.
Despite this remarkable turnout, the event was given scant coverage in most parts of the media – not just in the national press but, surprisingly, also BBC News and ITV News.
The event was opened by the naturalist Chris Packham – a very familiar face for viewers of BBC nature programmes – together with Professor Mike Berners-Lee, author of “There is no Planet B” amongst other bestselling books.
The aim of the event was to pull together and present the latest data about climate change and related issues, for decision-makers in law, policy, science, business and other important fields.
Presenters included specialists in emissions, health, food security, meteorology and nature-based solutions, all with a mission to review the evidence base and present thinking about the action needed in the short and medium term to avoid the negative – and accumulating – risks of climate change.
Here in the UK, it’s tempting to think that climate change will only really have major effects on far-flung parts of the world – some Pacific islands which will lose their coastal areas or even be submerged. But this event made it clear that the UK – and Europe – is far from insulated against those negative effects, and will in fact be exposed to a whole range of damaging consequences. As we are learning, these include a change in sea levels, increased risk of flooding, and unexpected extreme weather events, with the consequent effect on other parts of the ecosystem such as crop damage, wildfires and biodiversity loss.
The meeting focused on the real risks which those phenomena are likely to present in the future and – perhaps more importantly – what we can all do to offset the risks and minimise the damage caused.
The evidence presented has been gathered together and turned into a 45-minute film, which will be screened at Norden Farm at 10.30am on Saturday April 18th – tomorrow. The screening will be followed by a Q&A session with Joshua Reynolds MP and Councillor Karen Davies, the Royal Borough’s Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Biodiversity.
Tickets cost £5 and are available from Norden Farm Box Office.
