With over 2,370 registrations for the week, Day 1 (4 October) of ‘Dcarbonise Week: Virtual Sustainability Summit’ got off to a flying start with packed virtual conference halls. Day 2 (5 October) will open with a brief address by Patrick Harvie MSP, Scotland’s Minister for Zero Carbon Buildings, Active Travel and Tenants’ Rights in ‘The Road to COP and Net Zero’; his colleague Scotland’s Minister for Transport, Graeme Dey MSP will similarly set the final session on 6 October, ‘Land, Sea and Air: Decarbonising Transport’ on its way. Full details on all sessions and the full list of speakers in each can be found at https://www.all-energy.co.uk/en-gb/dcarbonise-week/programme.html
Day 2 in the spotlight
‘The Road to COP and Net Zero’, sponsored by Hitachi ABB Power Grids whose UK CEO Ian Funnell is one of the session speakers and chaired by Lindsay McQuade, CEO of ScottishPower Renewables, also features Councillor Susan Aitken, The Leader of Glasgow City Council; Professor Karen Turner, Director, Centre for Energy Policy at the University of Strathclyde; Bryony Livesey, Challenge Director – Industrial Decarbonisation, UKRI, and Jane Dennett-Thorpe, Deputy Director Decarbonisation & Energy Transition, at Ofgem
Day 2 also features ‘From Oil and Gas to Energy Integration’ with speakers from the Oil & Gas Authority; Net Zero Technology Centre; OPITO, UKRI and with Scottish Renewables’ Chief Executive Claire Mack in the chair, looking at how each side of the oil and gas and renewables ‘coin’ can work together. As in all sessions, delegate questions will help determine the direction of travel for the session where formal presentations are kept to a minimum and panel discussion rules the roost.
Next on the agenda in a session chaired by Ronnie Quinn, Chief Executive of NECCUS; ‘Decarbonising Industry: Scotland’s Answer’ features speakers from Storegga, SSE Thermal; INEOS Grangemouth, Carbon Engineering, and Peterhead Port Authority exploring a range of solutions including CCS, using hydrogen in place of natural gas and direct air capture (which removes CO2 directly from the air. Speakers represent not only the solution providers but CO2 emitters and the CO2 receiving port.
The final Day 2 session ‘Net zero – impossible goal? Tales from the cities and regions’ looks with help from speakers from UK100, the Robertson Group, the Greater London Authority (Shirley Rodrigues, Deputy Mayor for Environment and Energy), SP Energy Networks and Scottish Future Trust and chaired by Clare Foster, Head of Clean Energy and a Partner in the Banking Team at Shepherd and Wedderburn and a Commissioner on the Edinburgh Climate Commission
Days 1-3 are held under the auspices of All-Energy and its co-located Dcarbonise – the former concerned with all forms of renewable and low carbon energy generation and all that makes it possible; the latter with the end user. Days 4 and 5 see sustainability in marine science and use of the oceans; the travel industry; and farming in focus thanks to other RX Global events – Oceanology International; World travel Market and Future Farm Technology..
As Energy and Marine Portfolio Director at RX Global, organisers of the Virtual Summit explained:
“We are thrilled by the reaction to Dcarbonise Week which unites some of the best known and respected event communities and provides exceptional education and guidance. We are engaging hundreds of business leaders, policy makers, energy managers, buyers, heads of sustainability, technologists, solution providers, academics and investors, all unified in their passion and pursuit of decarbonising their operations as we strive towards becoming Net Zero.
“We would like to thank our brand sponsors – ScottishPower, Shepherd and Wedderburn and Ørsted; and our session sponsors Hitachi ABB Power Grids; iXBlue, Kellas Midstream; Driving the Electric Revolution Industrialisation Centres, Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN), and SWEP for their support for Dcarbonise Week. And, after a highly successful Day 1 look forwwrd to the forthcoming days!
“We look forward to returning to normal next spring when the 20th All-Energy (and the co-located Dcarbonise) will be held 11-12 May at SEC Glasgow – very much a legacy COP26 event in terms of both content and location.”
Registration is open at https://www.all-energy.co.uk/en-gb/dcarbonise-week/programme.html for all Dcarbonise Week webinar sessions. All webinars will be available on demand
Getting ready for next year’s ‘in-person’ event
With an eye on 11 and 12 May 2022 not only is the exhibition filling up fast, but the Call for Speakers is available at www.all-energy.co.uk/en/Conference/callforpapers. Those who have submitted for the 2021 event need not re-submit, their submissions will be ‘rolled-over’ for consideration for 2022; but they are very welcome to suggest new ideas as well. The Call will remain open until Friday 17 December 2021.