Optimistic response to Climate Question Time

A Climate Question held at the University of Leeds to mark the launch of the Priestley International Centre for Climate produced an optimistic response to the question, ‘Are there achievable solutions for limiting climate impacts at 1.5C level?’

By the conclusion of the panel debate, 96 people (60% of the audience) voted ‘yes’ to the question, a slight increase on the vote at the start of the debate in which 93 voted in the affirmative. A poll on Twitter, which opened simultaneously and ran for five days, was less optimistic, with 53% of respondents voting yes.

The debate, which was chaired by Leo Hickman, former Guardian journalist, author and director of Carbon Brief, heard views from climate scientist and NASA astronaut Piers Sellers (by video), former environment minister and Chair of the Committee on Climate Change Lord Deben and Laurie Goering, editor of AlertNet Climate for Thomson Reuters Foundation.

They were joined on the panel by Piers Forster, Director of the Priestley International Centre for Climate, Myles Allen, Professor of Geophysics at the University of Oxford, Dr Jan Fuglestvedt, Research Director of CICERO in Oslo (the Priestley Centre’s new international partners) and Dr Jo House of the University of Bristol.

The event was filmed by Leeds Media Services – watch the debate below (43 mins).