Editor’s workshop on climate change

Climate Change: The biggest story ever?

A Workshop for South African Editors with Global and Local Experts
Park Hyatt Hotel, Rosebank, Thursday 6th August 2009

In Copenhagen in December the world will negotiate a new agreement on climate change and carbon emissions that will profoundly affect South Africa’s development in the next decades. What can we expect from this negotiation and what are its implications for South Africa’s economy in the years to come?

Up till now human-induced Climate Change has been regarded by most media and politicians as an ‘environmental’ issue. This view is fast becoming dangerously inaccurate. The growing involvement of all major governments and many of the world’s largest companies in finding ways to mitigate this turbulence indicates that Climate Change is now a central economic and social issue, capable of dramatically altering political and economic landscapes over the coming years.

What confronts South Africa? Who is doing what to develop a coherent response? And what might the media’s role be? These and other questions will be addressed during a workshop for editors and senior journalists hosted by Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership (CPSL) on 6 August 2009.

The day features contributions by James Smith, Chairman of Shell UK, and a veritable line-up of local climate experts including three contributors to the 4th UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report of 2007.

A further highlight of the day is a visit by British Secretary of State for Energy & Climate Change, Mr. Ed Milliband.

The workshop is funded by the Danish government in support of its hosting the UN climate change negotiations in Copenhagen.

The day’s programme consist of two parts: A breakfast session with inputs from two leading voices on climate change and business; and small group discussions with local climate scientists, policy experts and business leaders facilitated by Peter Willis & Richard Calland.

For any further details, you can get in touch with Magda de Kok at magda.dekok@cpsl.cam.ac.uk or 021 469 4765.