- Talk
- Climate change
- Manchester
- 17 February 2026
From climate science to climate policy in a world of changing geopolitics
A talk from Professor Piers Forster, Director of the Priestley Centre for Climate Futures, Chair of the UK Climate Change Committee June 2023 – July 2025
17 February 2026
6:30pm - 8:00pm
Manchester M1 3NJ
(Access via Altrincham Street Entrance)
£15.00 General Admission / £6.00 Students / Members book for FREE
Overview
Piers Forster is founding Director of the Priestley Centre for Climate Futures and Professor of Physical Climate Change at the University of Leeds. He is recognised as a highly cited climate scientist with over 30 years of experience researching the causes and impacts of climate change, as well as mitigation and adaptation approaches and their connection to national and international climate policy. He Leads the Indicators of Global Climate Change Project, an international independent initiative to provide annual updates of key climate indicators to policymakers.
He was made a fellow of the American Geophysical Union in 2019 and has played leading roles authoring Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports, including its Special Report on 1.5°C and its latest IPCC 6th Assessment Report. He has sat on the UK Government’s Climate Change Committee since 2018 and has served as the Committee’s Chair for 2023-2025.
Who Should Attend?
This talk is for anyone who wants to understand the UK’s response to the climate emergency, including:
- Professionals in healthcare, science, education, law, finance, and policy, who may be grappling with the implications in their own fields.
- Students and young people, who will live longest with the consequences.
- Community leaders, business owners, and decision-makers.
- Anyone interested in the intersection of government, science, society, and survival.
Questions to Reflect On
- Why did warnings about climate change go unheeded for so long?
- What does a world at >4.2°C of warming really mean for our society and citizens, not just ecosystems?
- How do issues of policy, economy, and national security intersect with climate change?
- What practical actions can individuals and communities take now to make a meaningful difference to government policy?
- Is there still time to change course, and what does “immediate action” actually look like in the UK?
Practical Information
The presentation will include time for questions and discussion. Booking is strongly advised.
Access
Access to the event is via the Altrincham Street entrance.
Accessibility Information
Please contact us regarding any specific accessibility requirements you may have by emailing events@manlitphil.ac.uk
Professor Piers Forster
Professor Piers Forster, Director of the Priestley Centre for Climate Futures, Chair of the UK Climate Change Committee June 2023 – July 2025.
Piers was educated at Imperial College, London, where he gained a BSc in Physics in 1990. He was subsequently awarded a PhD in Meteorology by the University of Reading in 1994. After research posts at the Universities of Reading, Colorado and Melbourne he was appointed a Reader at the University of Leeds in 2005. He has been Professor of Physical Climate Change at Leeds since 2008.
Piers is also founding Director of the Priestley Centre for Climate Futures at the University of Leeds and is Academic Lead for the University’s own Climate Plan. He has played significant roles authoring Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports, including the Fourth (2007), Fifth (2013) and Sixth (2021) assessment reports and the IPCC Special Report on 1.5°C (2018). It was the contributors to the 2007 report who won the Nobel Peace Prize alongside Al Gore, former US Vice-President and environmentalist.
As well as his research career, Piers helped establish the United Bank of Carbon, a UK charity that researches and protects trees and forests.
Research interests
Piers is an atmospheric physicist known for his research on the causes of climate change and the climate response of the Earth system. His work is used to assess climate impacts and guide mitigation strategies. Current research interests are listed below.
· Accurately predicting global temperature change: EU Horizon 2020 CONSTRAIN project, ZERO-IN report series.
· Climate impacts of future aviation: EPSRC TOZCA project, NERC Jet Zero MAGICA project, Royal Society report on future aviation fuels, AEF webinar on non-CO2 impacts of hydrogen.
· Indicators of Global Climate Change project: press release, full publication, dashboard, Carbon Brief article.
Research recognition awards
Royal Society Wolfson Merit Award (2011); Fellow of the American Geophysical Union (2019); Natural and Environmental Research Council Research Impact Award (2023); Web of Science Clarivate Analytics highly cited researcher (2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023).
Other interests
Piers now has a wood near Harrogate named after him in recognition of his outstanding contributions to climate science, environmental education and leadership during his career as an atmospheric physicist. This is, in itself, an apposite recognition in that Forster is a shortened version of Forrester and Piers has recognised that his mother and father planted thousands of trees before him. Piers is also patron of climate action charity Zero Carbon Harrogate and a long-time supporter of Long Lands Common – Harrogate and Knaresborough’s first ever community-owned woodlands project, which is where Forster Wood is located. The transformation of 90 acres of Knaresborough Forest Park rewilding project from farmland to nature reserve is well underway.
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