Climate change and the future of life on earth

Overview

The most remarkable thing about our planet is that it supports Life. The most remarkable thing about Life is its diversity. We share our planet with millions of species, each of which forms a cog in the vast and bewilderingly complex machine that is the biosphere.

For thousands of years, the expansion of the human enterprise has been transforming the biosphere and driving species to extinction, to the point where Life may now be entering a 6th mass extinction event.

Set against this background, a new threat has emerged: human driven climate change that over the course of the next few decades could (depending on our actions) push millions of species, and the ecosystems they form, beyond the limits of their resilience, threatening the functioning and stability of the biosphere on which our complex human societies—and our ability to combat climate change—utterly depends.

In this talk, professor Pigot will discuss what we know (and don’t know) about the Earth’s biological diversity, how biodiversity is now changing on our rapidly warming planet, why this matters, and what we can do to fix it.

The lecture will be followed by dinner for members and guests.

How to register your attendance:

Everyone is welcome to attend the lecture. Please reserve your spot by clicking the "Book Now" button above or by emailing [email protected] with your name and company details.
 
Any non-IESF members wishing to attend the dinner following the lecture should request a booking form by emailing “Dinner booking form” to [email protected]

Programme