Climate change pop-up ‘mini science festival’
To coincide with one of the most important global climate change discussions happening in Christchurch, a spontaneous public fair will help Cantabrians better understand the science behind the phenomenon.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) convened in the city this week, discussing the effects of climate change on land before drafting a special report to be reviewed by experts.
A pop-up climate exchange, next to The Piano Centre for Music and the Arts, on Armagh St, will host community groups, students and local science organisations today between 10.30am and 7pm.
IPCC scientists will mingle with University of Canterbury (UC) students, as well as representatives from the New Zealand Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research Centre and other local initiatives seeking to mitigate climate change.
Bronwyn Hayward is a IPCC lead author and expert advisor as well as UC Associate Professor in political science and international relations.
The ‘‘mini science festival’’ was a local emotional response to the IPCC event being held in the city, Hayward said. A mural painted by artist Liv Worsnop would feature climate change poems from local poets, bringing an artistic element to the event.
She said she was ‘‘really delighted’’ that community groups, students and organisations spontaneously wanted to connect with the IPCC and show the community what they do.
‘‘Of course the numbers [behind climate change] matter, but actually you don’t know how many parts per million of carbon are in the atmosphere but you do know when your house is flooded, or when the road you normally drive along is crumbling,’’ Hayward said.
‘‘We’re finding that increasingly people globally are more interested in climate change, but more from an emotional level and a family level and what it might mean for them.’’
Mayor Lianne Dalziel spoke at the official opening of the IPCC meeting and said it would be ‘‘an understatement’’ to say Christchurch understood ‘‘the power of nature’’.
She compared the land drop of up to 1.3 metres to the impact of a predicted sea level rise.
‘‘We think that this enables us to asses these impacts in a way that will assist others to think ahead,’’ Dalziel said.
‘‘We have been able to see with absolute clarity the impact that land-use decisions can have years down the track, and we have been given a chance that few coastal cities have had to consider the implications of climate change in a very real way.’’
"We're finding that increasingly people globally are more interested in climate change ...'' Bronwyn Hayward