Climate Change 2020: A year ahead to the UK’s UN summit

In little under a year, the UK will host the pivotal 2020 United Nations climate change summit in Glasgow.

The scientific imperative for cutting greenhouse gas emissions swiftly has never been clearer. Yet emissions are rising, and not all political leaders appear bothered. Movements such as Fridays for Future are questioning whether negotiations-as-usual can deliver change on the scale needed. The UK’s net zero target provides a degree of global leadership, but we are currently off track to meeting our carbon targets while Brexit pulls at our diplomatic muscles – and public demand for action is at the highest levels ever recorded.

This debate, organised by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), will look at:

• what hosting the UN summit means for the UK, in terms of our international diplomatic position, UK public engagement in climate change and national policy making

• the recent changes in awareness on climate change that encouraged the UK to bid for the summit

• what the public and civil society will be expecting from the summit, and how the UK can deliver success.

Chair: Pilita Clark, Associate Editor and former Environment Correspondent, Financial Times

Speakers include:

• The Rt Hon Claire Perry MP, President-Designate of the 2020 UN climate summit and former Minister of State for Energy and Clean Growth (invited)

• The Rt Hon Dame Margaret Beckett, former Foreign Secretary and Environment Secretary (invited)

• Chris Stark, Chief Executive of the Committee on Climate Change

• Ann Jones, Deputy Chair, National Federation of Women’s Institutes

• Peter Oborne, author and political columnist

• Clare Nasir, meteorologist and Channel Five weather presenter.

Time: 17.00 Registration. 17.30-19.00, followed by a drinks reception to mark ECIU’s fifth anniversary. Please let us know if you are only able to attend the seminar or the reception.