A community talk in Norwich will give people the chance to express their feelings about the climate and nature emergency and what we can do about it.

Dr Hayley Pinto, a consultant psychiatrist, medical and climate educator from Norwich, will lead the discussion at Chantry Hall at 7.30pm on Tuesday March 21.

The event, called ‘Act Together: How We Tackle the Climate Crisis’, is free and open to everyone, including a talk on the climate emergency, followed by discussion in small groups and free vegan food.

‘Act Together’ is also a chance to find out about a campaign to unite climate, nature, and community groups, and bring 100,000 people together outside Parliament in London from April 21 to April 24 this year. The campaign, called ‘The Big One’, is calling on the Government to stop funding fossil fuels or granting new licences, but instead allow Citizens Assemblies of ordinary people to decide how we fairly and sustainably transition to green energy.

Dr Pinto, a former lead consultant addiction psychiatrist for the NHS, became fully aware of the climate emergency after reading the 2014 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, and an article in the Lancet medical journal about the effect on human health. 

Climate change causes numerous health risks, including dangerous heat stress, disease and injury caused by extreme weather events, deterioration in heart, lung and other conditions, and mental health impacts. One of the biggest impacts worldwide is likely to be the threat to food and water security, due to repeated crop failures and drought.

The senior honorary lecturer at the University of East Anglia has been involved in medical education, climate education, outreach, and activism for many years. She works for the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare, a charity which supports the NHS and other health systems, is a founder member of Climate Hope Action in Norfolk, and joins in climate protests with Doctors for Extinction Rebellion.

The talk, which is being hosted by Extinction Rebellion Norwich, will include testimonies by two local residents, describing how they have been affected by the climate crisis and what action they are taking. People will also have a chance to find out more about The Big One’, and roles they can play in the campaign – from taking part in street surveys to social media, lobbying, admin, playing music, creating art materials and more.