The most recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was described by the UN Secretary-General as a “red alert for humanity”. It is imperative that the world’s governments respond to that alarm at COP26 and agree to take bold action to mitigate climate change in line with the science. Hopes that the conference will deliver are high, but what do people really expect the outcomes to be?
These webinars will bookend COP26. The first session on 1 November will explore what a diverse group of stakeholders are expecting from the conference. The second session, on 15 November will capture the reactions of those same stakeholders to outcomes the conference has delivered.
Overview of the sessions
The results of COP26 will impact everyone and interest in this conference is very high. The objective of these sessions is to expose our audience to a range of perspectives on this pivotal moment for humanity. The sessions will take the form of an informal moderated conversation. Guide questions will be provided, but the moderator may also take questions from the audience.
Speakers
Moderator
Dr Alex Hope,
Head of Department: Leadership and HRM
Faculty of Business and Law
Newcastle Business School Northumbria University
Dr Alex Hope is Head of Department for Leadership and Human Resource Management and Associate Professor of Business Ethics at Newcastle Business School, Northumbria University. He is responsible for the strategic leadership of the department and undertakes teaching, research and consultancy across topics such as responsible business, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), CSR, energy policy and business ethics. Alongside his work at Newcastle Business School Dr Hope is a past Vice-Chair of the UK and Ireland Chapter of the United Nations Principles of Responsible Management Education (UN PRME) initiative and current Co-Chair of the UN PRME Climate Change and Environment working group.
Moderator
Dr Rachel Welton,
Assistant Head of Undergraduate
Nottingham Business School,
Nottingham Trent University
UK and Ireland PRME Steering Committee
Dr Rachel Welton is NBS Assistant Head of Undergraduate Studies at Nottingham Business School and a Senior Fellow HEA. She is on the UK and Ireland Chapter Steering Committee of the United Nations Principles of Responsible Management Education (UN PRME) an active member of the PRME Champions group and a co-founder of Carbon Literacy Training for Business Schools. She is currently involved in several pedagogic research projects in responsible management education, such as, carbon literacy training and coaching and mentoring for responsible management; the learning from these initiatives inform her teaching.
Speaker
Thom Kenrick,
Head of Social Strategy & Impact,
NatWest Group
Thom Kenrick is Head of Community Programmes at RBS. He leads the bank’s strategy for supporting and engaging with its communities through its customer-facing brands, including NatWest, The Royal Bank of Scotland and Coutts. His team is responsible for the bank’s community programmes and partnerships, as well as leading and coordinating RBS’s staff and customer-facing giving, fundraising and volunteering. Prior to joining RBS, Thom worked for Unilever on supply chain projects in various parts of the world. Thom is a Fellow of the RSA and a Board Trustee for two charities: RBS Social & Community Capital and the Coutts Foundation.
Speaker
Ellen Fearon,
President,
National Union of Students, Northern Ireland
Ellen Fearon is the President of NUS-USI (National Union of Students-Union of Students in Ireland), representing over 200,000 students and apprentices across Northern Ireland. Ellen was elected by representatives of Northern Ireland’s students’ unions on a promise to build a grassroots, mass movement of students, learners and apprentices across NI. Ellen is a trustee of Students Organising for Sustainability UK, a board member of SOS-International and a keen environmental activist.
Ellen is a former Law & Politics student from Queen’s University Belfast. During her time at Queens she formed the award-winning QUBSU Climate Action Group which created and passed via referendum a ‘QUB Green New Deal’, demanding a carbon neutral University by 2030, fossil fuel divestment and embedding sustainability into curricula. This was the first of its kind on the island of Ireland.
Speaker
Susan Halliwell,
Acting Chief Executive,
West Berkshire Council
Sue is Acting Chief Executive and Executive Director, Place at West Berkshire Council overseeing place shaping functions including planning, infrastructure, economic development, public protection and environment, creating places where people want to live and work. Sue’s current focus is on delivering the council’s zero carbon ambitions.
Sue’s previous roles have included Director for Planning at Place at Oxfordshire County Council, securing long term infrastructure funding required to meet the planned growth for Oxfordshire, working closely with strategic partners including Government agencies, local authorities, and delivery partners to unlock the opportunities for a step change in delivery. She has also led on the establishment of a Centre for Excellence for Local Authorities, delivering business resource efficiency measures to local business communities across England, establishing low carbon community schemes e.g. community funded solar schemes, development of regional resource management strategies and establishment of the largest county-wide community action network in the UK.
Webinar 1: Expectations for COP26 - Nov 1st 13:00 - 14:00
Panellists will be asked to share both their hopes and expectations for COP26. They may speak from their own perspective as well as on behalf of the organisations and the constituencies that they represent.
Participants will have a better understanding of what is riding on COP26 and the implications of various outcomes for themselves and other stakeholders;
Participants will be informed about opportunities to engage around COP26 and perhaps even influence the outcomes.
Webinar 2: Reflections on COP26 - Nov 15th, 13:00 - 14:00
Panellists will be asked to share their reflections on COP26. Did it meet or exceed expectations or disappoint? What next? They may speak from their own perspective as well as on behalf of the organisations and the constituencies that they represent.
Participants will have a better understanding of how different stakeholders expect to be impacted by the COP outcomes;
Participants will be informed about how they can continue to engage in climate action, either to implement an ambitious agreement or mobilise to demand greater ambition.