The role of uncertainty in the climate crisis

In A sustainable future

10 Mar 2022 13:30 – 14:30

Online

“We are addicted to prediction, desperate for certainty about the future. But the complexity of modern life won’t provide that. History doesn’t repeat itself and even genetics won’t tell you everything you want to know. Ineradicable uncertainty is now a fact of life.”
Margaret Heffernan.

This event was held on Thursday 10 March. The recording is available below.

Margaret Heffernan is an academic, businesswoman and bestselling author. In her recent book Uncharted: How to Map the Future Together she explores the unavoidable role of uncertainty in the future.

We discussed how far the unpredictable nature of climate change is clouding our ability to foresight, and Margaret’s own projects that hope to alter the course of climate change. As we try to decipher the delicate future of our society and our planet, now is the time to consider: can we ever truly predict what’s to come?

For Margaret “what matters most is not the predictions themselves, but how we respond to them and whether we respond to them at all”. We need to be willing to explore, experiment in the moment and accept uncertainty.

Margaret Heffernan was joined by Nesta's Celia Hannon, Director, Discovery Hub on 10 March at 13:30 to find out more about how we map the future and the impact of the climate crisis.

Why you should watch the recording

This free online event is for those working in innovation, business, research, sustainability, climate mitigation, or anyone interested in learning more about the future of society and our planet.

Margaret Heffernan talked about how we can plan and prepare for the future, from forecasting in business, to predicting scientific advancement, to mapping out the path of climate change.

Event recording

The opinions expressed in this event recording are those of the speaker. For more information, view our full statement on external contributors.

Margaret Heffernan

Dr. Margaret Heffernan (she/her) produced programmes for the BBC for 13 years. She then moved to the US where she spearheaded multimedia productions for Intuit, The Learning Company and Standard&Poors. She was Chief Executive of InfoMation Corporation, ZineZone Corporation and then iCast Corporation, was named one of the “Top 25” by Streaming Media magazine and one of the “Top 100 Media Executives” by The Hollywood Reporter. She has written six books; her most recent Uncharted: How to map the future quickly became a bestseller and was nominated for the Financial Times Best Business Book award, the CMI Best Business Book and was chosen as the “Medium Best of the Best”. Her TED talks have been seen by over 13 million people and in 2015 TED published Beyond Measure: The Big Impact of Small Changes. She is a Professor of Practice at the University of Bath, Lead Faculty for the Forward Institute’s Responsible Leadership Programme and, through Merryck & Co., mentors CEOs and senior executives of major global organizations. She chairs the boards of DACS and FilmBath and is a Trustee of the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution.