Celebrating 10 Years of the Priestley Centre for Climate Futures

This milestone marks a decade of collaboration, innovation and impact across the climate research community, while looking ahead to the action needed over the next 10 years and beyond.

The event will open with a keynote address from the Priestley Centre’s Director, Professor Piers Forster CBE, reflecting on the Centre’s achievements over the past decade and setting the scene for the celebration. This will be followed by a panel discussion exploring how climate change solutions emerge across different sectors, highlighting practical pathways towards meaningful and positive action in the years ahead.

Guests will then have time to network and explore a curated programme of creative works related to climate, environment and place.

A sound installation, compiled by Dr Scott McLaughlin, will unfold across the concert hall and foyer spaces. The instillation will feature an audio‑visual work by Professor Martin Iddon that quietly explores climate grief, and new student compositions that build off field recordings from the University's woodland site, created in collaboration with colleagues from the School of Earth, Environment and Sustainability. This sonic exploration of eco loss and hope is not to be missed!

The celebration will feature additional exhibitors, including James McKay’s Dreams of a Low Carbon Future, a visionary illustration project imagining Leeds as a positive, zero-carbon city of the future, and climate poetry curated by Matt Howard, developed through a collaboration between University of Leeds poets and Priestley Centre climate researchers.