With Professor Johan Rockström, Professor of Earth System Science, University of Potsdam and Director of Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.
Join globally renowned climate change expert Professor Johan Rockström at Scotland’s largest and longest running public lecture hosted by The Macaulay Development Trust and The James Hutton Institute.
Johan will discuss the latest scientific results of the health of the earth system, including the recent work of the Earth Commission and will also update on the "Earth for All" scenario, analysing pathways towards attaining the Sustainable Development Goals within planetary boundaries.
His talk will reflect on where we stand shortly before the COP28 to be held in Dubai and his thoughts on the corrective action he believes is needed in order to keep the entire system in its current inter-glacial state.
The lecture was held on Thursday evening (18th October 2023) in Edinburgh, where we were honoured to host Johan Rockström, who is internationally recognised for his work on global sustainability issues. We were delighted to welcome an audience of over 500 attendees to the event.
Johan's talk covered the latest scientific results of the health of the earth system, including the recent work of the Earth Commission and also an update on the "Earth for All" scenario, analysing pathways towards attaining the Sustainable Development Goals within planetary boundaries.
“The science is clear: the rising frequency and amplitude of extreme events is just one consequence of overshooting 1.5 °C warming, which is a real biophysical limit, and beyond which multiple tipping points in the earth system are not only likely to be triggered, but run a risk of causing tipping cascades”. -Professor Johan Rockström
After 11.000 years of a remarkably stable climate which has formed the support for civilisation to evolve comfortably; activities of the last 70 years have moved us into a period where human activity has started to significantly impact on the planet’s climate and ecosystems.
We face multiple global crises, afflicting built and natural environments, health and well-being, wealth and economic development, social stability and security - culminating in the risk of a polycrisis - a cluster of related global risks with compounding effects whose overall impact exceeds the sum of each part.
The lecture reflects on where we stand shortly before the COP28, to be held in Dubai, and his thoughts on the corrective action needed in order to keep the entire system in its current inter-glacial state.
On behalf of the Macaulay Development Trust and The James Hutton Institute; we would like to thank everyone who attended.
A recording of the 44th Macaulay Lecture is available on The James Hutton Institute's YouTube channel.
Notes from TB Macaulay roundtable – held 18th October 2023
The purpose of this special roundtable held with Professor Johan Rockström who delivered the 44th TB Macaulay lecture, was to explore how we socialise issues of climate and environmental transition and whether applying the concept of planetary boundaries can assist with this.
McEwan Hall, The University of Edinburgh
Teviot Place
Edinburgh
EH8 9AG
United Kingdom
The annual T.B. Macaulay Lecture is held to honour the vision of