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2021 Christ’s College Climate Seminar Series
Achieving change for population and planetary health post pandemic
Three major threats to population and planetary health— infectious diseases, non-communicable disease, and climate and environmental emergencies—are too often treated as distinct problems, but they are intimately entwined. They share many common causes, ranging from unsustainable farming practices to subsidies for fossil fuels. Synergistic actions across these and many other drivers have the potential to promote transformative change, but merely knowing what to do will not solve these problems – it is also essential to identify how to ensure these actions are put in place.
This seminar series examined ways in which effective action against these threats might be achieved through a focus on framing, public participation, and an appreciation of place.
Seminar 1: 21 January 2021 (3pm-4:15pm)
Counting the Costs: How are the costs of action and inaction best framed to drive effective change?
Chaired by Professor Dame Theresa Marteau, Director, Behaviour and Health Research Unit, University of Cambridge
The first seminar explored how to frame the case for change, in particular how quantifying the costs - using different metrics - and the moral arguments for change have worked in climate change and health inequalities, and the frames that might best foster synergistic action post COVID-19.
A written summary of the seminar can be read here.
To view the seminar, please click on the link below:
Panellists
- Professor Diane Coyle, Bennett Professor of Public Policy, Cambridge
- Professor Sir Michael Marmot, Professor of Epidemiology, UCL
Seminar 2: 1 February 2021 (8am-9am)
Digital democracy: How can digital technology facilitate citizens voices in policy making?
Chaired by Professor Frank Kelly, Emeritus Professor of the Mathematics of Systems, University of Cambridge
The second seminar focused on public participation and ways that digital technologies can enable greater public engagement in both the identification of problems and commitments to actions required to address them.
A written summary of the seminar can be read here.
To view the seminar, please click on the link below:
Panellists
- Audrey Tang, Digital Minister, Taiwan
- Professor Sir Geoff Mulgan, Professor of Collective Intelligence, Public Policy and Social Innovation, UCL
Seminar 3: 4 February 2021 (3pm-4:15pm)
Place and policy making: How can local decision making achieve greater change?
Chaired by Professor Michael Kenny, Professor of Public Policy, University of Cambridge
The third seminar explored the role of local, place-based decision making – and the benefits it brings in terms of local contextual knowledge and public engagement - alongside decision-making at national and international levels.
A written summary of the seminar can be read here.
To view the seminar, please click on the link below:
Panellists
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Dr Jeanelle de Gruchy (President of the UK Association of Directors of Public Health)
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Sir Chris Ham (former Chief Executive, King's Fund)
Seminar 4: 11 February 2021 (3pm-4:15pm)
Emerging themes: Improving population and planetary health in the light of Covid-19
Chaired by Dr Rob Doubleday, Executive Director, Centre for Science and Policy
A written summary of the seminar can be read here.
To view the seminar, please click on the link below:
Panellists
- Professor Charles Kennel, Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego
- Professor Dame Theresa Marteau, Director, Behaviour and Health Research Unit, University of Cambridge
- Fiona Harvey, Environment Correspondent, The Guardian
Seminar Series Prize Winners
- Lucy Gardner, Medical Student at Christ's College, University of Cambridge
- Ian Holdroyd, Medical Student at Christ's College, University of Cambridge
- Alice Jin, Student at the Department of Chemical Engineering & Biotechnology at the University of Cambridge
- Camille McCarthy, Undergraduate at Christ's College, University of Cambridge
