Like in a game of Mikado, we must today negotiate delicate changes to prevent the precarious structure of the game, or the energy or the environment, from collapsing. Climate, customs, diets, transportation, communications, and culture in general seem to be in a state of accelerated flux. This is no coincidence; these changes are interconnected, intertwined.

The Zeitgeist seems like a bad game of Mikado, the devilish Japanese puzzle that consists of dismantling a tangle of sticks without them collapsing, or better yet, negotiating the changes we can make, the sticks we can move or perhaps remove altogether, without the precarious structure of the game disappearing completely. Isn't this precisely the state of affairs now? When we're at the supermarket, or on the road, when we're battling the heatwave or facing a ballot... what do we do?

Climate Change is a series of meetings with expert voices—and a space for dialogue with citizens—focused on the challenges that global change poses to each and every one of us. In a context where the data and relevance of climate change are beyond doubt, and yet there is still room for social and individual action, the social and psychological perspective is fundamental. As Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman said, “Climate change is the kind of threat that we, as human beings, have not evolved to deal with.”

In Climate Change, we will try to soberly evaluate some of the factors -psychological, technological, political- that block decisive action against climate change and explore alternative, academically supported paths by which we could reach -perhaps sooner- our longed-for destination.

Those attending the debate series will also enjoy free access to the exhibitions. The biggest emergency y Messenger species. To access the exhibition halls you must show the accreditation that will be given out on the day of the debate.

Program

Wednesday November 27

Why the ingredients of climate change form the perfect cocktail for inaction and how to use science to achieve possible change.

José Antonio Corraliza (UAM)

Alicia Pérez-Porro (CREAF)

Anxo Sánchez (UC3M)

Moderator: Luis Quevedo

Wednesday December 4

Beyond reducing: what can science do to repair climate change?

Gabriel Chiodo (CSIC)

Susana García-López (Heriot Watt University)

Moderator: Luis Quevedo

Wednesday December 11

The sky and the sea, however. How will storms and diseases change in the coming years?

Olivier Boucher (CNRS)

Salvador Almagro-Moreno (St. Jude Children's Research Hospital)

Moderator: Luis Quevedo