The Path to Net Zero and COP26

The Path to Net Zero and COP26
Sponsored by ScottishPower and the Scottish Government
 
Climate change and the climate emergency are with us. In 2019, the UK Government and the devolved administrations committed to the Net Zero target as recommended by the Committee on Climate Change. Reaching net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions requires extensive changes across the economy, but the foundations are in place.
 
Major infrastructure decisions need to be made in the near future and quickly implemented. These changes are unprecedented in their overall scale, but large-scale transitions have been achieved successfully in the UK before, such as the natural gas switchover in the 1970s or the switch to digital broadcasting in the 2000s.
 
How are we charting the path to net zero? With a year to go, what are our hopes and aspirations for next November’s UN climate summit in Glasgow (COP26)? How can we truly shift the dial? Our panelists will certainly give us food for thought as they consider both topics, indeed UK domestic climate ambition can be the basis for UK international leadership in 2021 in the Presidency of OP26 and in the G7 Presidency.
 
Chair: Keith Anderson, CEO, ScottishPower and a member of the COP26 Business Group
 
Speakers:
● Keith Anderson, CEO, ScottishPower and a member of the COP26 Business Group
● Chris Stark, CEO, Committee on Climate Change
● Professor Rebecca Willis, Professor in Practice, Lancaster Environment Centre; Expert Lead for Climate Assembly UK, the national citizens’ assembly on climate change
● Mike Barry, Sustainable changemaker and Former Director of Sustainable Business, Marks & Spencer
 
Panel discussion and audience Q&A
 

Speakers

Keith Anderson
CEO, ScottishPower and a member of the COP26 Business Group

Keith is Chief Executive Officer for ScottishPower and he also sits on the ScottishPower Board, where he was appointed in February 2012.

Keith has full responsibility for the Company’s activities in the UK including the £5.3bn investment plan to 2022 designed to strengthen the position of the Company as the Utility of the Future. 

Prior to joining ScottishPower, Keith had worked with some major financial institutions including The Royal Bank of Scotland and Standard Life, as well as working as a management consultant with Ernst & Young.

Chris Stark
CEO, Committee on Climate Change

Chris Stark is the Chief Executive of the UK Committee on Climate Change (CCC), the public body tasked by the Climate Change Act to be the independent authority on tackling climate change. Chris leads a team of analysts and specialists, offering expert insight into the challenges of reducing UK emissions and adapting to the changing climate.  

Chris led the CCC’s work in 2019 to recommend a new ‘Net Zero’ target for the UK – now brought into law. He speaks regularly on the transition to a zero carbon economy and the need to confront climate change with urgency.

Chris has wide experience in government. He has designed economic policy in Whitehall, including in HM Treasury and the former Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. He was previously Director of Energy and Climate Change in the Scottish Government, leading the development of the Scottish energy and climate strategies. 

Professor Rebecca Willis
Professor in Practice, Lancaster Environment Centre; Expert Lead for Climate Assembly UK, the national citizens’ assembly on climate change

Rebecca Willis is a researcher with twenty years’ experience in environment and sustainability policy and practice, at international, national and local level. She is a Professor in Practice at Lancaster Environment Centre, and an Expert Lead for Climate Assembly UK, the national Citizens’ Assembly commissioned by Parliament.

In 2009 Rebecca founded Green Alliance’s Climate Leadership Programme, an initiative to support Members of the UK Parliament, and still supports Green Alliance’s work in this area. Previously, she was a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee for the UKRI Energy Programme, Council Member of the Natural Environment Research Council, vice-chair of the UK Sustainable Development Commission, and Director of Green Alliance.

Mike Barry
Sustainable changemaker and Former Director of Sustainable Business, Marks & Spencer

Mike is the former Director of Sustainable Business at Marks and Spencer leaving there after 14 years and now devoting his life to leadership; transforming incumbent businesses; growing start-ups and scaling change. He provides thought leadership on the enabling conditions for scaling sustainable solutions through policy advice, consumer understanding and technology innovation

All-Energy and Dcarbonise is the UK’s leading and only full supply chain renewables and low carbon energy event for the private and public sector energy end users, developers and investors.

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