A WARNING that human existence is in jeopardy because of climate change will be sounded on Wednesday by this year’s winner of the prestigious Edinburgh Medal.
Indian environmentalist Sunita Narain will call for transformational action when she is presented with the gong in a streamed ceremony.
Speaking ahead of the event Narain, who appeared alongside Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio in his climate change documentary, said she was “honoured and humbled” to be awarded the medal.
“The Edinburgh Medal for 2020 is, in my view, a reminder of our tumultuous times, hit by Covid-19 and climate change and the need to make transformational changes in our world,” said Narain, who was listed as one of the top 100 most influential people in the world by Time Magazine in 2016.
“The urgency of the climate change threat cannot be denied. Climate change is real; it is happening and it is making the poor in our world even more marginalised and even more insecure. In an increasingly unequitable and climate-risked world, poor people find that they cannot cope anymore. We do not have the luxury of time anymore. My generation has squandered the privilege away.”
She said the presentation of the medal on Wednesday signified the need for “bold action – inconvenient as it may be”.
“We need to take transformational action,” said Narain, Director General of the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) and editor of the fortnightly magazine, Down To Earth. “We need to do this in ways in which we will build the resilience of the poor and the economies of all.”
In her address on Wednesday, Narain will explain how the climate crisis affects the poorest areas of the globe, how the volatile politics of immigration deepen the divide between the marginalised and the rich and how the latter get distracted by trade wars, Brexit, economic crises and many other issues, not recognising it is the climate crisis that has to have priority.
“I want to discuss what must be done in our world to make it less insecure, less angry and less carbon risked,” she said. “Climate change, like air pollution, is a great equaliser. Our existence is at stake. Nothing less.”
In receiving the medal, Delhi-based Narain joins a recipients’ list of notable men and women of science, including Professor Jane Goodall and Sir David Attenborough, who are judged to have made a significant contribution to the understanding and wellbeing of humanity.
Wednesday’s ceremony will be hosted by the Lord Provost and Lord Lieutenant of the City of Edinburgh, Frank Ross, and Jan Thompson, Acting British High Commissioner to India, will present Sunita Narain with the Edinburgh Medal.
Dr Deborah O’Neil, founder, CEO and Scientific Officer of NovaBiotics, an Aberdeen-based leading clinical-stage biotechnology company developing first-in-class medicines for medically unmet diseases, will deliver the oration ahead of the medal address.
Amanda Tyndall, Creative and Festival Director at Edinburgh Science Festival said: “That we share one world, with all of its problems and opportunities, has never been more apparent.
“Pandemic aside, perhaps nothing is more important than that we act with urgency, on a global level, to address the climate crisis and to do so in a way that is sustainable for all,” said Tyndall.
“It is for her invaluable work as both an environmentalist and activist that Sunita Narain is the very worthy recipient of this year’s Edinburgh Medal.”
Audiences will be able to tune into this free event on Edinburgh Science’s YouTube channel at 2.30pm on Wednesday, November 18.
Edinburgh Science Festival 2020 was cancelled due to the global pandemic of Covid-19 but updates on Edinburgh Science projects can be found at www.sciencefestival.co.uk
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