“What a time to be alive!” is not a phrase you’d expect to hear from a climate scientist.
But in his TEDxSurrey talk, professor Simon Donner explains why we are living at a moment of immense opportunity, and why it’s going to take imagination to tackle the stark realities of the climate crisis.
“We can make a better future for ourselves and for future generations,” he says. “To get there, we need our imaginations. We need the courage to see a different future, and chart the path there.”
Professor Donner is an interdisciplinary climate scientist, cross-appointed to UBC Geography, the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, and the Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries.
He is a lead author on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s recent Sixth Assessment Report and is a member of the Canada’s Net-Zero Advisory Body, which advises the federal government on pathways to eliminating climate-warming emissions.
He will be one of 10 UBC delegates attending the COP27 climate conference this November.
