Lincoln Efford Lecture: Conflict, Activism & the Climate

Lincoln Efford Annual Memorial Lecture: Conflict, Activism and The Climate Crisis

Save the date! You are cordially invited to our annual Lincoln Efford Lecture held in memory of the late Lincoln Efford, who contributed significantly to both the WEA and the peace movement. This year we have chosen to look at climate change and specifically the threat it poses to world peace. We are delighted to confirm our key-note speaker as Professor Richard Jackson, the Director of the National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Otago. This from him:

Summary: Consequences of the climate crisis will include, among others, disruptions to food production systems, the mass movement of climate refugees, competition for scarce resources such as water, and increased natural disasters. All of these consequences have the potential to create intense social and political conflict, particularly as people migrate in large numbers and disrupt their host societies.

Sadly, our current national and international institutions are ill-equipped to deal with the coming conflict and disruption of climate change. Citizens and communities will need to find ways of dealing with these challenges. In particular, radical environmental activism will be needed to force power holders to make the necessary changes and develop community resilience.

Bio: Professor Richard Jackson is the Director of the National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Otago. He is the author or editor of 12 books and more than 100 papers on pacifism and nonviolence, terrorism, war, conflict resolution and politics. He has also published a research-based novel entitled Confessions of a Terrorist (2014, Zed books).