Discover how Lancaster Environment Centre researchers and their collaborators are responding to climate change as we explore some of today’s key climate questions at the COP26@ Lancaster University Festival.

How can urban food help to provide a local healthy diet? How can eco-innovation offer sustainable development in West Africa? How can local people provide climate guidance for politicians? Is our current economic model broken? How has climate shaped the past, and future, of our local landscape? How can local businesses and researchers work together to develop low carbon products and services?

These are some of the questions being explored at a series of seminars, workshops and guided walks during the week-long festival, being held in Lancaster district in the run up to the COP26 meeting of world leaders in Glasgow next month. The free sessions are a mixture of in person and online. Everyone is welcome though booking is required.

Sessions include:

• Our Food Growing Hope Spots is a self-guided interactive walking tour around 7 Lancaster city spaces identified for local food growing. Through animation and future visions for the cityscape, it explores everything we need to consider when growing food in an urban environment. It will be running for a month.
• Travelling in Climate Time involves hands-on activities and a guided walk exploring how climate change past, present and future will affect the people, plants and birds around Morecambe Bay and the Lune Estuary.
• People Power: involving citizens in climate policy making. Professor Becky Willis joins local councillors and members of Lancaster district’s People’s jury to discuss the role of citizens in tackling the climate crisis, and how policy makers are reacting to their recommendations.
• Circular Solutions: how can eco-innovation deliver sustainable development in Africa. Learn how researchers have worked with communities, farmers and businesses in West Africa. Projects span health and sanitation, energy from waste, food production and soil security.
• Disruption, Innovation, Transformation. Climate Change: it’s now or never. Hear about how to integrate sustainable practice in your business from Duncan Pollard, former VP for Sustainability at Nestle and Director of Conservation Practice and Policy at WWF. Then discuss shared challenges with others in breakout spaces.
• Is this version F**ked? Dr Andy Jarvis chairs a discussion about whether the status quo be trusted to deliver on our climate goals, or are significantly different models required?
• Climate Change: what can we do now? Experts from Prof Mike Berners-Lee's Small World Consulting explore the systemic changes we need to make as a society, as well as the actions we can take as individuals, in the fight against climate change.