Sir David King, Chief Scientific Adviser to the United Kingdom and Head of the Office of Science and Technology, will deliver a speech at the next Greenpeace Business lecture. The lecture will be held at the Royal Society of Arts and will be chaired by Stephen Tindale, Executive Director of Greenpeace UK. Ithe third Greenpeace Business lecture on Tuesday 12 October 2004. The lecture will focus on the science of global warming and the need for action.
Governments face serious challenges today from the effects of climate change. Climate change is real, despite conflicting views on the seriousness of its effects. The casual link to increased greenhouse gas emissions is beyond doubt. Carbon dioxide levels are now at a higher level than at any time in the past 420,000 years at least. As a consequence of continued warming, millions of people around the world will increasingly be exposed to hunger, drought, flooding and debilitating diseases such as malaria.
The UK government intends to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 60% by around 2050. How can it achieve this?
The international community must now make a concerted effort to limit global warming and adapt to those changes in climate which are already unavoidable. Doing nothing and allowing market forces to work through the challenges at hand is not an option. That is not to say market forces should not play an active part, but to what extent can we rely on them? Effective action demands international agreement on a process, which engages the world community in tackling this global problem. Immediate action is required; inaction due to questions over the science is no longer defensible.
Read the transcript of the lecture
