Café Scientifique

Aubrey Meyer, co-funder of the Global Commons Institute and creator of the "Contraction and Convergence" concept, increasingly being seen as the much-needed "Plan B" to succeed (or even rescue) the struggling Kyoto protocol.

HOW IT WAS

A small group of people with different background, ages and knowledge – but with an interest in common: climate change, gathered in British Council offices in London, Brasília and Sao Paulo to hear all about the concept of Contraction and Convergence from its creator, Aubrey Meyer, Director of the Global Commons Institute (GCI) in London.

In the informal environment of a café scientifique and helped by the wonders of modern technology, the three cities discussed by video conference the impact climate change is bringing to our lives, how to mitigate its effects and possible solutions for the future. The audience was encouraged to think about the problem, to learn more about Contraction and Convergence - a solution that has been gaining adepts around the world as a fair and easy way to reduce carbon emissions - and to clear their doubts and give their opinions. Participants were interested in the topic and in the way in which the discussion happened as between glasses of drinks, cups of coffee and delicious snacks, relevant global problems as deforestation, recent disasters as the Indian Ocean tsunami and the Hurricane Katrina were discussed side-by-side with the role each individual may have in preventing the situation from getting even worse.

Connecting different countries via Cafés scientifiques by video-conference has been an important part of our work in science communications. keep an eye in our web to learn when the next ones will take place, then...

How about joining us in our next café? It would be great to have you in the audience.