Lincoln to host international climate change conference

The University of Lincoln and the Diocese of Lincoln will host an international conference on climate change next month, featuring speakers from across the world.

The conference titled ‘Moana – Water of Life: Navigating Climate Change For Planetary Health’ will begin at 9am on August 30 and 31 with a welcome to delegates on the Friday.

University students are free to attend the conference, but must book a ticket as places are limited. For others, the conference, including lunch, is priced at £40 on both the Friday and Saturday – click here to book tickets.

The conference will involve two days of lectures and workshops shaped around the disciplines of science and theology.

There will be a market place open on the Friday and Saturday in the foyer of the university’s Minerva Building with a range of stalls and exhibitors. The exhibitors are people already active at either local or national level in seeking a sustainable future for the planet.

Keynote speakers at the conference include voices from science and theology in the UK, Oceania and the USA. They include:

• Archbishop Winston Halapua, who has campaigned for climate justice and has seen first-hand the impact in his country – Tonga.

Archbishop Winston Halapua.

• Professor Mark Macklin is the Head of School of Geography at the University of Lincoln. He also oversees the Lincoln Centre for Water and Planetary Health. His keynote talk is entitled: The Rivers of Humankind.

Professor Mark Macklin.

• Bishop Marc Handley Andrus is the eighth Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of California, based in San Francisco.  He has lead Episcopal Church efforts to uphold the landmark global climate accord struck at COP21 in Paris.

Bishop Marc Handley Andrus.

• Professor Elisabeth Holland
• Dr Emily Colgan
• Lynnaia Main

There will also be parallel sessions from other speakers.

There will also be a three-course dinner with a low carbon footprint in the Cathedral Chapter House at 7pm on Saturday, August 31.

Lincolnshire chef and entrepreneur Sam Owen from the Salted Orange Food Company will present the meal with a C02 footprint of 1.888kg. Tickets are available here priced at £50.

On Sunday, September 1 there will be a Conference Service at Lincoln Cathedral at 10.30am including a service of worship focused on the themes of the event. It will also include the launch of the Diocesan Environmental Policy and the distribution of trees to offset the carbon footprint of the conference.

Professor Edward Hanna, Professor of Climate Science and Meteorology at the University of Lincoln.

Professor Edward Hanna, Professor of Climate Science and Meteorology at the University of Lincoln, is one of the event organisers and speakers.

He said: “This international conference comes at a crucial time when we are faced with various choices on how we deal with the widespread social and environmental impacts of human-induced global warming.

“Both myself and my colleagues look forward to discussing these issues with you during the course of our meetings, and I hope that together we will provide some essential stepping stones to make a real difference afterwards.”