October 9, 2017

Academics and communities come together for Global Climate Change Week 2017

UOW-initiated global movement in its third year

Academics, professional staff and local communities around the world will come together this week to save the planet in a global movement that began at UOW.

Three years ago a group of academics and students at the University of Wollongong (UOW) got together to talk about climate change action and solutions.

The concept of Global Climate Change Week (GCCW) was born.

Three years on and GCCW is still encouraging academic communities – including academics, students, and professional staff at universities – to climate change action and solutions.

Last year, 288 academics, students, and other academic community members registered for GCCW 2016, with 82 registrants from Africa, 60 from Australasia, 52 from North America, 43 from Asia, 33 from Europe, and 18 from Latin America.

This year participants will host a range of activities including open lectures, discussion panels, climate activism workshops and other events at UOW’s Wollongong campuses and venues around the city of Wollongong.

The events are aimed at capturing the attention of students, policy-makers, and the wider community, demonstrating the need to take action against climate change.

UOW climate scientist Dr Helen McGregor says: “The global climate is so important because it affects everybody’s daily life.

“Potentially, things we take for granted like food and water may be at risk due to climate change.”

UOW student Elizabeth Morison is a representative for the Australian Youth Climate Coalition.

“The climate crisis is a huge issue for young people today. We are the future generation that is going to inherit this problem,” Elizabeth said.

GCCW 2017 is part of UOW’s Global Challenges Program, a collaborative, interdisciplinary and community-connected research and engagement initiative aimed at solving significant global challenges.