Pictured above: Jonathon Porritt
One of the environment movement's leading figures, Jonathon
Porritt, will be tackling the climate change deniers in a talk held
in Nottingham on December 14.
Jonathon, who is a founder director of Forum for the Future and
former chairman of the Sustainable Development Commission, will be
speaking at No.1 Nottingham Science Park in an event co-sponsored
by Nottinghamshire's new Greentech Business Network and sustainable
developer Blueprint.
Titled 'good science, bad science and the scourge of denialism,'
the talk will deal with way 'bad' science is used to deny climate
change.
"Everybody accepts that the foundations for a low-carbon,
genuinely sustainable economy have to be built on the best possible
scientific evidence," said Jonathon.
"Politicians are only too keen to sign up to the principle of
evidence-based policy-making, but the reality looks rather
different. Policy responses on climate, energy, biodiversity,
resource management, water and waste are all extremely partial in
the way they reflect the state of science today.
"Debates around these issues are often compromised by 'bad
science', by which I mean the use of incomplete or inaccurate data
to justify pre-determined positions. Worse yet, the growing
phenomenon of 'denialism' (where scientific evidence is seen to
have no more value to decision makers than partisan and
ideologically-motivated viewpoints), particularly in the US, poses
a serious threat to the role of science in society today."
Jonathon, who chairs the igloo/Blueprint "Footprint" Sustainable
Investment committee, will also be talking about the potential of
Britain's low-carbon economy, especially in the light of further
investment in renewable technologies and the Green Investment Bank
announced by Chancellor George Osborne in the Comprehensive
Spending Review.
The December 14 talk is the latest in a series of events
debating climate change organised by Nottingham Science City and
held at No.1 Nottingham Science Park. Previous speakers have
included environmental commentators and writers such as Prof David
MacKay, Chris Goodall, Mark Lynas and Jeremy Leggett.
The event will feature a 30-40 minute talk followed by a lively
Q&A debate with an invited audience. To register for the
Jonathon Porritt event please contact Vanessa Corns at
vc@nde.org.uk or ring (0115) 876 4501. The event begins at 5.30pm
for a 6pm start and will end at approximately 8pm.