MUNK DEBATES TO TACKLE CLIMATE CHANGE ON THE EVE OF THE U.N. COPENHAGEN SUMMIT

Bjørn Lomborg, Lord Nigel Lawson, George Monbiot and Elizabeth May  debate the merits and pitfalls of global climate change policy

Oct. 14, 2009 - Toronto

Peter and Melanie Munk announced today the resolution and presenters for the fourth semi-annual Munk Debate to be held in Toronto on Tuesday, December 1st.

The fourth Munk Debate will explore the opportunities and hazards of the global response to climate change by debating the resolution: “Climate change is mankind's defining crisis, and demands a commensurate response.”

The debate will consider whether rising C02 levels in the atmosphere require bold international policies to avoid the catastrophic effects associated with out-of-control climate change. It will also explore if the economic cost of reducing C02 emissions are warranted as the world fights its way out of recession, and whether the threat of climate change to humans and nature has been exaggerated.

Arguing for an ambitious global response to climate change is acclaimed environmental activist and Guardian columnist George Monbiot.  His bestselling book, Heat: How to Stop the Planet Burning, outlines how large-scale reductions in carbon emissions are necessary and achievable by modern economies. He will be joined by Elizabeth May, the leader of the Green Party of Canada.

Opposing a robust international response to climate change is Bjørn Lomborg, professor at Copenhagen Business School and acclaimed author of The Skeptical Environmentalist and Cool It, two influential books questioning the social and financial costs of climate change mitigation.  He will be joined by Lord Nigel Lawson, former Chancellor of the Exchequer of the United Kingdom, and author of the bestselling book An Appeal to Reason: A Cool Look at Global Warming.

Rudyard Griffiths, the director and moderator of the Munk Debates, comments: "By holding our debate six short days in advance of the Copenhagen climate change summit we aim to inform Canadians about one of the great public policy debates of our time: what should be the global response to climate change?”

In an era where political spin and public grandstanding are fast displacing serious discussion about the challenges facing Canada and the world, the Munk Debates provide a lively and substantive forum for leading thinkers to discuss the pressing issues of our time. Two debates are held each year, one in the spring and one in the fall. The previous Munk Debate participants include U.S. diplomat Richard Holbrooke, activist Mia Farrow, journalist Charles Krauthammer, historian Niall Ferguson, former diplomat Stephen Lewis and former general Rick Hillier.

The Munk Debates is a signature initiative of the Aurea Foundation, a charitable organization established in 2006 by Peter and Melanie Munk to support Canadian institutions involved in the study and development of public policy.

“Our philanthropy is aimed primarily at improving the quality and vitality of public debate in Canada,” said Peter Munk, speaking about the rationale for the Munk Debates. “Whether it is the support we provide to the Munk Centre for International Studies at the University of Toronto or the Munk Debates through our Aurea Foundation, Melanie and I are committed to broadening public knowledge, education and informed discourse,” stated Mr. Munk.

Rudyard Griffiths added: “With over 3,000 members, the Munk Debates have become not only a sought after ticket, but an important national event.” Mr. Griffiths continued: “The debates' success is a testament to Canadians' desire for high-quality discussion of the big issues facing our country and the world."

The Munk Debates are open to the public. The climate change debate will take place on Tuesday December 1st, 2009 at The Royal Conservatory – TELUS Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto, at 7:00 pm, with a reception to follow.

Tickets to the debate at the Royal Conservatory range from $20 to $50 each and can be purchased online at through the Royal Conservatory box office by phone at 416-408-0208 or online at performance.rcmusic.ca. Seating is limited.

Partners and friends of the Munk Debates include CBC Radio One, The Globe and Mail, The Canadian Parliamentary Affairs Channel and The Hazelton Hotel.

For more information on the Munk Debates including biographical notes for presenters appearing at the December debate and past debate proceedings visit: http://www.munkdebates.com/media/

Elizabeth May - PRO "We need to look at all of Canada's priorities, but we must address the climate crisis...if we fail to address it, nothing else we do makes any difference." Elizabeth May is Leader of the Green Party of Canada, an environmentalist,writer, activist and lawyer active in the environmental movement since 1970. Before winning the leadership in 2006, she was Executive Director of the Sierra Club of Canada. Her volunteer work has included successful campaigns against uranium mining in Nova Scotia, and extensive work on energy policy issues. May was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2005, and in 2006 was named one of the world’s leading women environmentalists by the United Nations. http://www.munkdebates.com/debates/climate_change/may.cfm

George Monbiot - PRO "The real costs of climate change are not measured in dollars and pounds, the real costs are measured in lives and in ecosystems...immeasurable." George Monbiot is the best-selling author of Heat: How to Stop the Planet Burning and a columnist for the Guardian. In 1995 Nelson Mandela presented him with a United Nations Global 500 Award for outstanding environmental achievement. He has been named by the Evening Standard as one of the 25 most influential people in Britain, and by the Independent on Sunday as one of the 40 international prophets of the 21st Century. He has held visiting fellowships or professorships at the universities of Oxford, Bristol and East London. http://www.munkdebates.com/debates/climate_change/monbiot.cfm

Bjørn Lomborg - CON "...we are knkowingly squandering colossal sums of money (on climate change) while fractional sums can save millions of lives right now." Bjørn Lomborg, director of the Copenhagen Consensus Center, is a global opinion leader and author of The Skeptical Environmentalist. He was named one of the 75 most influential people of the 21st Century by Esquire magazine, one of the 50 people who could save the planet by the Guardian, one of the top 100 public intellectuals by Foreign Policy, and one of the world’s 100 most influential people by Time. He is the former director of Denmark’s Environmental Assessment Institute, and an adjunct professor at Copenhagen Business School. http://www.munkdebates.com/debates/climate_change/lomborg.cfm

Lord Nigel Lawson - CON "We have entered a new age of unreason which threatens to be as economically harmful as it is disquieting. It is from this, above all, that we need to save the planet." Former Chancellor of the Exchequer Nigel Lawson, Lord Lawson of Blaby, is an internationally esteemed and highly experienced authority on all aspects of economic policy. He served as the Chancellor of the Exchequer under Margaret Thatcher and is the immediate past president of the British Institute of Energy Economics. He entered the House of Lords in 1992 and served on the Lords’ committee investigating the economics of global warming. He is also the author of the best-selling book An Appeal to Reason: A Cool look at Global Warming. http://www.munkdebates.com/debates/climate_change/lawson.cfm