̽»¨Ö±²¥

̽»¨Ö±²¥lecture ‘Risk and (Human-induced) Climate Change’ is being given by Bob Watson, Professor of Environmental Sciences, and Director of Strategic Development for the Tyndall Centre at the ̽»¨Ö±²¥ of East Anglia.

Professor Watson argues that the question is not whether the Earth’s climate will change in response to human activities, but when, where and by how much. He says human-induced climate change is inevitable and predicts that the most adverse consequences will be in developing countries.

He argues therefore that climate change is not only an environmental issue, but a development and security issue and that the challenge is to limit the magnitude and rate at which it occurs.

̽»¨Ö±²¥free public lecture is the last in the series and will take place from 5:30pmÌýtoday, Friday 5 March at the Lady Mitchell Hall on the ̽»¨Ö±²¥â€™s Sidgwick Site. As usual, people are advised to arrive early in order to guarantee themselves a place in the theatre, as the lecture series has proved even more popular than in previous years and demand is very high.

Professor Watson’s career has evolved from research scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology, to a US Federal Government program manager at NASA. He has been advisor in the Office of Science and Technology Policy at the White House and Manager and Chief Scientist at the World Bank amongst other formal positions.

Professor Watson’s areas of expertise include managing and coordinating national and international environmental programs and assessments, and establishing science and environmental policies. He advises governments and civil society on the policy implications of scientific information and policy options for action.

During the last 20 years he has received numerous national and international awards recognising his contributions to science and the science-policy interface, including Honorary ‘Companion of the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George’ in 2003.

̽»¨Ö±²¥annual Darwin College Lecture Series has been running since 1986. Each year the series offers people the chance to hear leading academics and public figures on a broad range of topics. These themes change from year to year and each lecture is given by someone from a different academic discipline, making for a diverse, accessible and popular lecture series.

This year’s theme is risk and the series has seen presentations from Professor David Spiegalhalter, Dr Ben Goldacre, Professor John O’Doherty, Professor Christopher Hood, Professor Mary Beard, Professor Lucia Zedner and Professor Mark Bailey on topics ranging from science and the media, to government, humanities, natural catastrophes and even terrorism.

̽»¨Ö±²¥theme and speakers for next year’s lecture series will be announced on Friday. Look out for details at the lecture and on the Darwin College web-site.