In November 2015, Synchronicity Earth hosted an evening, led by two expert speakers, to discuss the realities of climate change. Does the global process work? What is happening below government level? How are landscapes and wildlife changing in response to climate change, and how can we take meaningful action?

Climate Change is already affecting landscapes and wildlife around the world: extreme weather events are becoming more commonplace and species distribution and disease patterns are gradually shifting. This is leading to significant impacts on the world’s poor who rely on the landscape around them for food and welfare.

Dr Kersty Hobson, a social scientist and Senior Lecturer in the School of Planning and Geography at Cardiff University, began the evening by shining a light on the intergovernmental processes leading up to the meeting in Paris.

Dr Shonil Bhagwat, a geographer and Senior Lecturer in Geography at the Open University, researching the interconnections between development and the environment, spoke about how climate change is already affecting plants, wildlife and whole landscapes.

Having ‘unpacked’ a very big topic, one of the clear messages from the evening was that a range of different solutions is needed and many of them are about how we live – the choices we make. The important thing is to get involved in some way.

A more detailed review of the topics covered can be found here.