| 英文摘要: | Global Climate Change Week (GCCW) will take place for the first time on 19–25 October this year. The name doesn't give much away, so just what is GCCW and where did it all begin?
The event aims to bring together academics from across all disciplines to share ideas and engage with students and the broader community on climate change action and solutions. As Helen McGregor, a palaeoclimatologist on the coordinating committee, explains “academics who aren't climate scientists want to support their climate science colleagues ... [climate change is] an important enough issue that affects so many spheres, we want to send a message that something has to happen, we have to get people on board”.
The idea behind GCCW came from Keith Horton, a moral and political philosopher at the University of Wollongong, Australia. Horton had previously co-founded Academics Stand Against Poverty (http://academicsstand.org): “the aim was to get academics more active and to have some influence in the real world on poverty”. Although there are obvious links between climate change and poverty, climate change was not a focus of this group because when it was established, back in 2009, it seemed that “there was so much momentum behind climate change that we can leave it alone because we still need more focus on poverty”. However, Horton's thinking shifted as progress has stalled on climate action, and the idea of GCCW — a vehicle for academics who have not had a way to engage in the climate change discussion — came about.
The concept has become a reality with the first committee meeting back in December 2014. Moving forward there was refinement of the aims and recruitment of an advisory panel, followed by the website launch and opening of registration. The website (http://globalclimatechangeweek.com) allows people to register as a participant and add planned activities, which are complied onto a global map. “We also have what we are calling university champions, they can come on board and champion a range of events at their university, in a facilitator role” explains McGregor. |