Forewords

Foreword

Professor Lisa Roberts, Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive, University of Exeter

I am honoured to be able to introduce this incredible collection of stories . Never has the need for addressing the health and wellbeing of our planet been greater, nor has it been so important to ensure that people around the world comprehend the perilous state of our environment . In 2021, the University of Exeter launched its ambitious Strategy 2030, placing the health of our planet at its heart, so that through our research, teaching, and other activities, we can lead meaningful action against the climate emergency and ecological crisis, make key breakthroughs to transform human health and wellbeing; and lead the progress towards creating a fair, socially just and inclusive society . An essential part of this ambition is to ensure that we work across disciplines and nations, so we can build collaborations and work together to engage communities around the world, to find lasting solutions . By bringing together climate science, planetary health, and the arts, this collection of micro-stories demonstrates the University of Exeter’s vision and commitment to support creative thinking and interdisciplinary approaches to tackle global challenges . Unique in their evolution, the narratives on offer here connect communities at local, national and international levels, through collaboration and adaptation . They show to a broad and diverse audience the precipice on which humanity now stands, and the

urgency with which we must search for solutions to the climate and environment emergency . The stories bring home the reality of the changing climate and its impact on communities and the natural world, and I’m sure will inspire readers to take action to protect our precious planet . How we engage individuals and communities is crucial in our fight to create a better future, and it is vital that we have the space to share stories, so that together we can envisage a greener, more sustainable, healthier way of living, thereby motivating climate and environment action for the benefit of communities around the world . I am delighted that the world-leading work of the University of Exeter and our partners will be showcased in this book .

Foreword

Professor Penny Endersby, Chief Executive, The Met Office

Climate change is the defining challenge for humanity today . When I was privileged to speak at COP26 on the subject of “Partnerships for the Planet” I made the point that a global collaborative effort was needed to keep 1 .5 alive . Some of the examples I gave were of The Met Office partnerships with scientists in developing nations, with other government organisations, with the media and with our academic partners such as Exeter University . In the run up to COP26 we hosted a conference “Science for a Resilient Future” where we brought together the science that would be needed to address the climate crisis over the coming decade . There we also experimented with bringing in cultural elements to capture and communicate the proceedings in different ways . The performance poem of Mr Gee and his apology to the sky is one of my most memorable moments from that event If solving the climate crisis is a whole-of-humanity effort, then partnerships between the arts and the sciences are a powerful way of engaging people who are not scientists or policy makers . The power of storytelling and of images, of music and poetry to explain and inspire new audiences is of huge value when trying to communicate something so complex and potentially so daunting . Neither are science and the arts two separate breeds . The new ways of representing our thinking also help those of us who are steeped in the detail of climate change and climate science to come at problems afresh .

I am delighted that the Met Office and the University of Exeter have been able to contribute to this volume as we hand over the COP leadership from the UK to Egypt, and I hope the stories inspire new thinking, ideas, and energy in all those who encounter them .

This is a plea from your resource, your host, your ally if you choose . What will be your legacy? Petrified promises and empty boasts? I am listening . You still have a chance . ’

Extract from ‘Five Senses, One Chance Left’ – One Chance Left, a collection of poems co-created between climate scientists and health professionals for COP26 : greenfutures.exeter.ac.uk/onechanceleft