Exeter climate experts to speak at Glastonbury

Two Exeter climate experts will speak at this year’s Glastonbury Festival.

Professor Richard Betts MBE and Laurie Laybourn are on the line-up for the Speakers Forum in the Green Fields area.

Professor Betts will be on a panel on Friday 27 June at 12 noon discussing the concept of “climate breakdown”, the idea that extreme weather is becoming more severe than previously experienced, with long-term threats such as rising sea levels increasing the risk of coastal flooding, and with the potential for passing tipping points in the climate system.

Then on Saturday 28 June at 5pm, Professor Betts will be interviewed by the former BBC environment analyst Roger Harrabin on the implications of the US administration’s huge cuts to US climate science.

Laurie Laybourn, a visiting Fellow at Exeter’s Global Systems Institute, will give a talk entitled “Geoengineering: Trap or Tool?” at 5pm on Friday 27 June.

Both have appeared at Glastonbury in previous years, with Professor Betts recently contributing a chapter to the book Events and Society on how the music festival shines a spotlight on climate challenges and solutions.

Professor Betts, who will also be appearing on the festival radio station Worthy FM during the week, said: “Glastonbury provides a unique opportunity to discuss climate change issues with a broad audience who may not always have time to thing about this crucial topic. The festival has always had strong environmental traditions and many people go not just for the music but also to connect with a wider community thinking and acting on sustainability.”

Laurie Laybourn said: “Climate change is escalating. But there is a way to navigate what’s coming. Culture and free discussion will be key and are adaptations in their own right. By providing both, Glastonbury models some of what we need to navigate the worsening climate crisis.”