Winchester MP Steve Brine will join Cabinet member Chris Huhne as the University of Winchester hosts a climate change summit on Friday 19th November.
The High Sheriff of Hampshire will also be joining key representatives from local authorities, stakeholders and employers from the Winchester district as they look to make progress towards a strategic response to climate change which will be an exemplar for the low carbon economy.
Antony Froggatt, lead author of the recent white paper Sustainable Energy Security: Strategic Risks and Opportunities for Business, will speak at the event, along with Alan Lovell, the High Sheriff of Hampshire and Professor Joy Carter, Vice Chancellor of the University of Winchester. Secretary of State for the Department of Energy and Climate Change Chris Huhne will make a keynote speech.
Steve said: “I am very much looking forward to taking part in these high-level talks. This provides a real opportunity for us to develop a strategic response to climate change right here in Hampshire, and all credit to the University for convening this meeting.”
Professor Joy Carter, Vice Chancellor of the University of Winchester, said: ““The University is very pleased to be hosting this significant meeting. It is important that the leaders of Winchester focus with the Secretary of State on how we can work together to make Winchester an exemplar on responding to the challenge of climate change.
“Sustainability is a strategic priority for the University and we run a number of initiatives on campus aimed at reducing our carbon footprint and impact on the environment. A number of targets have been set including our aim to cut our carbon emissions by at least 30% per m2 and reduce waste going to landfill by 70% by 2015.
“By the end of the first year of the Carbon Management Programme, the University had cut its Carbon emissions per staff/student FTE (Full Time Equivalent) by 9.7%, and our recycling rate is 56%, up from 14% in January 2009.”
Objectives for the meeting include strengthening the recognition of climate change, sustainability and peak oil as central and urgent strategic challenges for organisations in the Winchester district, and coordinating a shared urgency and commitment to real action against climate change, spearheaded by local leadership.
Pictured; the coat of arms of the University of Winchester, who are convening the talks