In partnership with Staffordshire County Council, Staffordshire University ran a free online lecture for Earth Day on Friday 22 April 2022, to help educate people about climate change and reducing their carbon footprint.

The lecture, delivered by Tim Harris, Senior Lecturer of Physical Geography at Staffordshire University, focussed on what climate change is, its drivers and consequences.

The talk, attended by a mix of students, staff and the public, addressed reasons why we should be concerned about climate change and the potential future impact of climate change in Staffordshire.

Tim Harris, Senior Lecturer at Staffordshire University, said: “There is an undeniable trend of a warming climate that we strongly suspect is driven by human activity, and in line with this trend, we are increasingly seeing more adverse weather conditions, such as flooding, droughts and storms, that impact us all.

“Looking at the impact of climate change in Staffordshire, data suggests that if global temperatures increase by just four degrees, then the hottest summer day in North Staffordshire might reach an estimated 39.3 degrees. Maximum winter temperatures could also rise significantly too.”

Earth Day is a day dedicated to driving positive action for our planet and the lecture also covered how individuals can reduce their own carbon footprint as part of our collective effort to reduce global carbon emissions.

The average carbon footprint of a UK citizen is 13.1 tonnes or the equivalent of 66 double buses (five double decker busses is equal to one tonne of carbon). Tim suggested changes that everyone can make to reduce our individual impact on the environment across our homes, travel, food, purchases and public services.

Tim added: “There are certain parts of the political spectrum that suggest that because the UK’s emissions are only contributing to about 1% of global emissions, that we don’t need to do much. However, this isn’t a realistic perspective.

“We are all citizens of this planet, and if we all make an effort to reduce our carbon footprint, we will achieve globally as global citizens the necessary changes that we need.”

You can find out more about Earth Day on the official website.