Climate change commentator and the United Kingdomâs former Government chief scientific adviser, Sir David King, is in New Zealand next week for a series of public lectures entitled âImproving human well-being on a resource-limited planet â can we do it?â The lectures will address the challenges of climate change, ocean degradation, and maintaining affordable and sustainable food, mineral, freshwater and energy supplies. The lecture series (http://www.massey.ac.nz/massey/about-massey/events/engine-series/improving-human-well-being.cfm) is brought to Massey University by the Institute of Fundamental Sciences.
Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa
Hailing from the United Kingdom, Sir David was the UK Governmentâs Chief Scientific Adviser and Head of the Government Office of Science, and in that time he raised the profile of the need for governments to act on climate change and was also instrumental in creating a new £1 billion Energy Technologies Institute. He advised government on issues including the foot-and-mouth disease epidemic of 2001; post 9/11 risks to the UK; GM foods; energy provision; and innovation and wealth creation.
As part of his address, Sir David will discuss the 21st century challenges, and how they are qualitatively different from those we overcame so successfully in the 20th century, when well being - health, life expectancy and quality of life - took a leap forward for many, especially in the so-called developed countries.
Sir David now calls for renaissance in our thinking, and a re-evaluation, so that we place human well being alongside ecosystem and resource management in order to plan an equitable and sustainable future for all, including those who have been excluded from betterment until now.
The challenges demand innovation, seizing new opportunities for science and technology to work alongside the humanities and social sciences.
Policymakers, the private sector, and the public sector will all have to embrace the changes - coordination and collaboration offer the only prospect of success.
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