Building on the findings of our recent research we explored how we can meet the climate change challenge.
Climate change is widely acknowledged as the most pressing societal challenge of the 21st century. This interactive event built on the latest social science thinking in order to understand how people view the role of public engagement and what policy responses to climate change are seen as most desirable and why.
The session brought together policy makers, academics and the public and opened up a new conversation about the role of citizens in facilitating climate mitigation. Researchers from the University, along with external speakers from the Fleming Policy Centre, facilitated discussion with audience members about how policy might best be leveraged to engage people in climate change, whether this was considered desirable and what the alternatives might be. This event set out the feasible alternatives for meeting the climate change budgets and helped participants to reflect on what is desirable and/or challenging about each of these.
By looking at options at this level of detail, members of the audience could articulate more clearly the kind of future they want to see and the role they see themselves and other members of the public having in delivering that. Participants' views were included as part of ongoing research to understand how people view the role of public engagement and what policy responses to climate change are seen as most desirable and why.