Ask a Climate Change expert: How can we save our planet?

Members of the public from across the world are invited to submit their climate change-related questions to a diverse panel of experts, who will answer them live at a public panel debate.

Taking place at the end of Climate Exp0 – an international climate change conference, part of the official pre-COP26 All4Climate Italy 2021 programme – this public debate is an opportunity for members of the public to ask a leading panel of climate change experts their questions on climate change that are important to them. It’s an opportunity to ask how we as individuals can make a difference now to help us move towards net zero; and to find out directly from experts what we can do to change our behaviours and live more sustainably.

From biodiversity loss and energy futures, to youth voice and behaviour change, our panellists will decipher the latest in climate science, and inspire how as individuals, groups and nations, we can take action and contribute to advancing a more resilient, sustainable, net zero future.

Members of the public can submit their questions, in advance of the debate, as part of their registration process. During the event the Chair, Dr Emily Shuckburgh, will field questions to individual panel members.

The time for action is now. Please join the organisers to find out how you can play your part.

Meet the panel

Chair: Emily Shuckburgh, Director of Cambridge Zero.

Dr Emily Shuckburgh is Director of Cambridge Zero, the University of Cambridge’s major climate change initiative. She is also Reader in Environmental Data Science at the Department of Computer Science and Technology and leads the UKRI Centre for Doctoral Training on the Application of AI to the study of Environmental Risks (AI4ER).

She is a mathematician and climate scientist and a Fellow of Darwin College, a Fellow of the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, an Associate Fellow of the Centre for Science and Policy, a Fellow of the British Antarctic Survey and a Fellow of the Royal Meteorological Society.

She worked for more than a decade at the British Antarctic Survey where she led a UK national research programme on the Southern Ocean and its role in climate (ORCHESTRA), and was deputy head of the Polar Oceans Team and head of the Data Science Group. Prior to that she undertook research at École Normale Supérieure in Paris and at MIT. She has also acted as an advisor to the UK Government on behalf of the Natural Environment Research Council.

In 2016 she was awarded an OBE for services to science and the public communication of science. She is co-author with HRH The Prince of Wales and Tony Juniper of the Ladybird Book on Climate Change.

Panel

Lord Deben, Chairman of the Climate Change Committee

Lord Deben was the UK’s longest-serving Secretary of State for the Environment (1993 to 1997). He has held several other high-level ministerial posts, including Secretary of State for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1989 to 1993).

• Lord Deben founded and chairs Sancroft, a corporate responsibility consultancy working with blue-chip companies around the world to help them improve their environmental, social and ethical impact
• he is Chairman of Valpak Limited
• he is Chairman of the Personal Investment Management and Financial Advice Association

Tamsin Edwards, Reader in Climate Change, Kings College London

Dr Tamsin Edwards is a climate scientist specialising in quantifying the uncertainties of climate model predictions, particularly for the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheet contributions to sea-level rise.

She is a Lead Author of the forthcoming Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report (to be published in 2021) and a Contributing Author to the IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (2019).

Tamsin regularly advises the UK Government on sea-level rise, climate science and science communication, and provides expert comment to international media and business. She is an award-winning communicator, including through Twitter (@flimsin), her blog for the Public Library of Science, PLoS (All Models Are Wrong) and articles for the Guardian.

She is also the director of the MSc Climate Change: Environment, Science and Policy and leads the King’s Climate Hub.

Brighton Kaoma, Global Director for the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network-Youth Initiative in New York City

Brighton Kaoma is a 2015 recipient of the Queen’s Young Leaders Award from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth. In 2016 he became the 1st African to be awarded The WWF International President’s Award for his work in sustainable development, climate advocacy, and youth empowerment. Growing up in the Zambian city of Kitwe, Brighton’s community suffered from extensive environmental health issues – several of their bridges were washed away by heavy floods, with communities getting hard hit by pollution from nearby copper smelters. At age 14, with an audience of over 2 million listeners, Brighton began using radio to mobilise communities and increase dialogue between government regulators, corporations, and scientists. He spent over 5 years supporting UNICEF as a Climate Ambassador and In-country Coordinator for educational and climate focused programmes in Zambia. Brighton has also worked in the private sector, having co-founded Impact Hub Lusaka and KARTON Logistics- a technology-enabled digital logistics platform that aggregates end-to-end logistics to help cargo movers and small business owners become more efficient and viable. Brighton has engaged in policy dialogue with world leaders, including President Barack Obama and Chancellor Angela Merkel. He’s currently the Global Director for the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network-Youth Initiative in New York City. Brighton is an Alumni of the University of Zambia and holds the Master’s of Public Administration(MPA) with Environmental Science and Policy from Columbia University in New York City.

Brighton is a One Young World Ambassador.