An estimated 30% of the UK’s population resides in its top 8 cities and c 84% resides in urban conurbations. Due to urban heat island effects and a greater intensity of GHG emissions per sq mile, larger cities have the propensity to warm up faster and stay dangerously warm during heatwaves and can also experience greater degrees of harm from flooding and storm-related damage relative to less built up and populated areas. Given that we are on a trajectory of a warming planet, it is not only urgent to invest in Net Zero strategies that lower GHG emissions but equally urgent to invest in adaptation of our urban infrastructure and our built environment to cope with extreme weather conditions.
Moderator:
Stephen Jones
Stephen is the Director of Core Cities UK, representing the councils of the 11 major cities in the UK outside of London, bringing the cities together to learn from each other and to advocate for our cities on the global stage. Read Core Cities recent report with the RSA here (Unleashing the potential of the UK’s cities – RSA report – RSA (thersa.org)). Prior to this role, Stephen spent twenty years in Whitehall, working across a range of Departments, most recently as the Director of the Cities and Local Growth Unit.
Confirmed panellists are:
Professor Piers Forster
Interim Chair at UK Climate Change Committee & Director of the Priestley Centre for Climate Future
Piers Forster is the founding Director of the Priestley Centre for Climate Futures and Professor of Physical Climate Change at the University of Leeds. He researchers the causes of climate change, climate impacts and mitigation strategies. He has played leading roles authoring Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports, including its Special Report on 1.5°C and its latest IPCC 6th Assessment Report. He has sat on the UK Government’s Climate Change Committee since 2018 and is currently serving as the Committee’s Chair, replacing Lord Deben.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/piers-forster-76aa60125/
Ben Smallwood
Sustainability Coordinator & Sustainable City Team Manager at Bristo City Council
Ben is Sustainable City Team Manager at Bristol City Council. His team covers sustainability in the built environment, climate resilience, air quality and nature recovery. Prior to joining the council he worked for a multidisciplinary engineering consultancy, designing sustainable buildings and city districts. The council have just finished the Keep Bristol Cool Framework, which is the city’s first strategy for managing urban heat risks. This framework builds on the Keep Bristol Cool Mapping Tool, which was launched in 2022 and gives insight on how heat vulnerability varies across different neighbourhoods in the city.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/bensmallwood/
Alex MacGillivray
Executive Director of Joint Impact Model Foundation & Head tutor on the Business and Climate Change on the Business and Climate Change at the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL)
https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-macgillivray-4847868/
Ruth Knight
Head of Climate and Sustainability at English Heritage.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruth-knight-624b4037/
This is a free webinar. Please book via this link to the Savills portal: https://savills.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_7vBFA7iLScWyKpnjvNYV1Q
