The power of storytelling and activism

This event marks the launch of the Grantham Research Institute’s Global Trends in Climate Change Litigation 2026 Snapshot report, an annual report now in its ninth year. The report presents an overview of the expansion, complexity, and maturity in the global field of climate litigation.

This public event marks the global launch of Smarter Than the Storm, a new book by Amitabh Kant and Siddharth Sinha, and explores its core ideas in conversation with Nicholas Stern.

How can scientific evidence help us in an age of “alternative facts”? As chief data reporter for the Financial Times, John Burn-Murdoch uses statistics and graphics to dig into the most pressing issues of the day, covering everything from the economy to climate change, social issues and healthcare. His high-profile use of visualization and data science helped audiences around the world understand the complexities of the coronavirus pandemic. He helps to inject data and evidence-based argument into what can be very polarising topics.

Artificial Intelligence is reshaping our world, transforming economies, societies, daily interactions and the institutions that support them. Many researchers and policymakers view this as a pivotal moment, one that could lead to greater global wellbeing if managed well or to growing instability if risks are left unchecked.

Our current food system is a leading cause of biodiversity loss and global warming. It is also responsible for increasing the risk of diabetes, stroke, and heart disease, as well as public health threats such as antimicrobial resistance and pandemics emerging from industrial animal agriculture.

We live in polarised times, when global problems seem to be turning us against each other, not bringing us together. Over Festival week we will explore ways of tackling the enormous challenges we face, but there will be no solutions without cooperation.

Football is more than a game. It’s a global cultural force with the power to shift norms, inspire communities, and mobilise collective action. As the climate crisis demands transformative change in how we live and consume, the world of sport, and football in particular, faces a critical question: can it become a genuine catalyst for climate action?

How can we reduce the inequalities and harms of commercial social media and the online world, while building spaces that better support our human need to connect and communicate?

We know the importance of data and evidence in tackling global crises like climate change, but is it stories rather than statistics that will drive change? Our panel discuss how art, literature and performance can be used to connect and inspire people, and how this feeds into activism.

Is the return of great power rivalry and conflict eroding the collective capacity and willingness of the international community to address environmental, trade, and public health crises globally?