Europe’s fires, battling Putin & climate optimism, with Peter Stott

Professor Peter Stott has spent decades proving that human activity is rapidly warming our climate, and confronting those determined to deny it.

In this episode of Totally Cooked, Peter joins hosts Iain Strachan and Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick to recount some extraordinary moments in the fight for climate science. He takes us inside a meeting in Moscow that was hijacked by advisers to Vladimir Putin and turned into a show trial, explains how An Inconvenient Truth landed him in the UK High Court, and reflects on the hacking scandal that became known as Climategate.

The conversation also explores Peter’s pioneering role in the development of extreme weather attribution. Beginning with the devastating 2003 European heatwave, scientists have learned to determine how human-caused climate change increases the likelihood and intensity of individual extreme events. Peter explains how the field developed, why accurate reporting of heatwaves matters, and where attribution science goes next.

Finally, Peter discusses his book, Hot Air: The Inside Story of the Battle Against Climate Change Denial, and what working with artists and musicians has taught him about communicating climate science through stories.

Iain records Totally Cooked on the lands of the Bunurong People of the Kulin Nation. Sarah records Totally Cooked on the lands of the Ngunnawal and Ngambri people. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging and recognise their unique and continuing connection to the land, skies, waters, plants and animals.

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