Speaker: Dr. Andrew Forrest AO

Host: Fan Shiming, Associate Dean of Yenching Academy, Peking University

Discussant: Zhang Haibin, Associate Dean of School of International Studies, Peking University

Time: 9:00-10:00, November 1 (Wednesday), 2023, GMT+8

Venue: Room B101, Second Gymnasium, Yenching Academy, Peking University

Language: English

Registration Deadline: 15:00, October 30 (Monday), 2023 (Scan the QR code to register)


Abstract:

In this talk, Dr. Andrew Forrest AO will talk about the greatest greenwash (and disinformation) in the world: that global warming is the fault of the public.

It is the fault of around one hundred business leaders globally. It is the fault of policy makers, who have wilfully or lazily failed to match policy settings to risk. Many of the risks posed by global warming are obvious – yet others remain poorly understood.

As temperatures rise, humidity levels are also inching up, creating deadly conditions across the world. At 35C and high humidity levels, sweat becomes ineffective at cooling; body temperature rises and quickly leads to death in the absence of air conditioning.

These conditions already exist in many parts of India, China, the United States and the Middle East and will place hundreds of millions of people at risk of death, leading to border chaos and uncontrollable migration, if the world fails to act now to replace fossil fuels with green energy.

Another poorly understood aspect of rising humidity is the impact on extreme weather – Libya being a recent example – and the role of water vapour as a natural yet powerful greenhouse gas.

Only business can solve this crisis, however the answer also lies in you (students and universities), because a radical, war-footing focus on green energy and innovation is the only way to keep warming to non-apocalyptic levels.

Speaker:

Dr. Andrew Forrest AO is a global business leader and philanthropist. Through Fortescue and Minderoo Foundation, Dr. Forrest is dedicated to leading the world to address the climate crisis and step beyond fossil fuels through green metals and green energy.

Dr. Forrest has a PhD in Marine Ecology, serves as an IUCN Patron of Nature and was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia for distinguished service to philanthropy, mining, employment, and sustainable foreign investment. In 2016, he served as a Councillor of the Global Citizen Commission, which was charged by the UN to modernise the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

In 2013, Dr. Forrest was appointed by the Australian Government Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet to lead the country’s response to tackling indigenous disparity, leading to the Forrest Review’s publication in 2014. Dr. Forrest is also Co-Chair of the Australia-China Senior Business Leaders’ Forum and a Board Member for the Boao Forum.

Source: Yenching Academy