Professor Tim Flannery in conversation with Professor Robert Manne (Politics, La Trobe University) and Vice-Chancellor Paul Johnson (La Trobe University) about the impact of the Copenhagen Climate Summit and what hope there is in its wake.
The 6th Ideas and Society lecture, held on 13 April 2010.
Part 1
Transcript
- Paul Johnson
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Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. My name is Paul Johnson. I’m the Vice Chancellor of La Trobe University. Welcome to this meeting of the Ideas and Society Program. We are all here to listen to and participate in a conversation about climate change between Tim Flannery and Robert Manne. Let me just say a little bit about both Tim and Robert. In a sense, neither of them need any introduction. As I’m sure you all know, Tim is one of Australia’s leading thinkers and writers, an internationally acclaimed scientist, an explorer, a conservationist, a star of TV and radio and a prize-winning author. His books include the definitive ecological histories of Australia, The Future Eaters, and North America, The Eternal Frontier and of course his 2005 book, The Weather Makers, a history on the future impact of climate change was published to huge critical acclaim and was awarded the major prize in the New South Wales Premier’s Literary Awards the following year. Tim is also a leading academic with over a hundred peer-reviewed papers and I think with a number of species, Tim, you’ve discovered, including two species of tree kangaroo, some of which have been named after you.
Tim is an alumnus of La Trobe University, graduated here with a BA in 1977 and was one of the recipients of the University Distinguished Alumni Award in 2007. He has received a Centenary of Federation medal for his services to science. In 2002 he was the first environmentalist to deliver the Australia Day Address to the nation. In 2007 he was Australian of the Year.
In Australia he is a leading member of the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists which reports independently to government on sustainability issues and in 2007 Tim co-founded and was appointed Chair of the Copenhagen Climate Council, a coalition of community, business and political leaders, who have come together to confront climate change. And of course today Tim will be in conversation with Robert on the subject of “Is there hope after Copenhagen?”
Robert, as I’m sure you will know, is not only a Professor here at La Trobe University but one of Australia’s foremost public intellectuals. From 1989 to ’97 he was editor of Quadrant. He has published many books, articles, reviews and newspaper columns on public affairs, international relations, history and contemporary Australian political issues. He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Social Sciences and in 2001 was joint winner of the Alfred Deakin Prize for contribution to public debate.
So, we have one of the country’s leading, indeed, I would say, the country’s leading advocate of action on climate change and one of the country’s leading public intellectuals here, live on stage, to talk about the future after Copenhagen. Please welcome Tim and Robert.
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