CONCERNED residents discussed the climate emergency and the impact on communities during a meeting at Penrhyn Hall, Bangor, on January 28.

About 60 people attended the event, called “Act Together: How We Tackle the Climate Crisis”.

It included a talk by Dr Aaron Thierry, an environmental scientist and climate activist, and a chance for everyone to share their thoughts and emotions.

Dr Thierry, who has studied melting permafrost in the Arctic, described how close we are to tipping points where ice sheets may disappear, leading to dangerous sea level rises which will threaten Bangor and other parts of North Wales.

He said: “The science is telling us that there are these tipping points in these ice sheets.

“We don’t know exactly where they lie, but we know if we continue warming the planet we will exceed their thresholds and we’re getting close.”

Dr Thierry, who grew up in Gwynedd, is now based at Cardiff University and researches how scientists and environmental groups can effectively communicate with the public about climate change.

“We care about the future, and we should speak to that because it’s affecting us and everything that we love,” he said.

“We’ve got to start saying that we’re willing to speak out - to try and make sure that people understand the severity of the situation.”

Former GP, Dr Lizzy Scott, part of the team from Extinction Rebellion Bangor who organised the talk, said: “It felt very worthwhile; people were very engaged with the issues.

“I was struck by how urgently we need to act to reduce carbon emissions, and how we need to work together to get meaningful political action.”

Alison Evans, a teacher from Llangoed, said: “I found out just how urgent the need is to decrease fossil fuel emissions now.

“We will soon reach a point where we will make large areas of the earth uninhabitable.”

People also heard about plans for a protest of 100,000 people outside parliament in London from April 21, calling for an end to the fossil fuel era, including no new oil and gas licensing, and a fair transition to green energy.

“We need to let our politicians know that there are thousands of us who want to stop all new oil and gas exploration, and ramp up renewable energy generation and energy efficiency,” said Alison.