Platform readers are being invited to take part in a new initiative entitled the Future Climate Forum through a “State of the Climate” series of events in early 2015 organised by The Northwest Climate Change Partnership (NWCCP) and Climate UK (CUK).

The Future Climate Forum provides a platform for strategic thinkers to share knowledge and learn about the key climate change issues that need to be addressed in the next decade or so. Through debate, discussion and networking the Forum aims to identify the key decisions that need to be made, who needs to be involved and when, as well as explore potential areas of collaboration spatially and between the pubic, private and third sectors.

The “State of the Climate” Series

All events will feature topical guest speakers, expert panel discussions and networking.  The three key themes currently open for booking are:

What does the current climate change trajectory mean for our natural systems?
15 January 2015
10.30-14.00 including lunch and followed by a tour around Brockholes Nature Reserve Brockholes Visitor Centre, Preston

What does the current climate change trajectory mean for our economic resilience?
26 January 2015
10.00-12.30
Warrington Town Hall, Warrington

What does the current climate change trajectory mean for our towns and cities?
9 February 2015
17.00-19.30 including networking and refreshments
Central Manchester, Venue TBC

You can book a place at any event by clicking here.  

Join the Forum

Attendees are invited from organisations whose activity focuses on (but may not be exclusive to) Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region, Cumbria, Lancashire, or Cheshire & Warrington, including local authorities, Local Enterprise Partnerships and Local Nature Partnerships, Government departments and academics, businesses, business networks, environmental regulatory organisations, environmental and sustainable development organisations.

Future Climate Challenges

The Future Climate Forum has been set up by the NWCCP and CUK to bring together practitioners and strategic thinkers from across the public, private and third sectors to consider how we will live and work in the future, when;

• We will need to decarbonise by up to 95% since 1990, to accommodate an economy almost twice the size within our 80% carbon target.
• We will be in the midst of climate impacts and we will know which climate future we will face.
• We will be an interconnected global market of 9bn, where climate impacts elsewhere will increasingly matter to us here.
• The number of people living in cities globally will double, and they will increasingly need to be smart and resilient to climate impacts.

Future focused

The opening event will be taking place in Warrington on 15 January 2015, which will explore what the current climate change trajectory means for natural systems, and will be chaired by Anne Selby, chief executive of The Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside.

The second event in the series will be taking place in Warrington on 26 January 2015 examining the challenges and opportunities presented by climate change on the Northwest’s economic resilience. The session will be opened by Councillor Terry O’Neil, Leader of Warrington Borough Council, chaired by Chris Matthews, head of sustainability at United Utilities, with a keynote speech delivered by Councillor Mike Jones, Leader of Cheshire West and Chester Council.

The third event will take place in Manchester on 9 February 2015 and will tackle the big challenges around demographics, rapid urbanisation, globalisation, resource scarcity and communications for towns and cities. The session will be chaired by Steve Connor, director of sustainable communications agency Creative Concern with a keynote speech delivered by Jon Lovell, head of sustainability at Deloitte together with an overview of the future climate challenges and opportunities by Dr Jeremy Carter, Research Fellow from the University of Manchester.

Perspectives on what this means for our towns and cities including challenges, opportunities and progress to date will be provided by Charlie Baker, Red Coop, Jessica Bowles, Head of City Policy at Manchester City Council, Joe Ravetz , Co-Director of the Centre for Urban and Regional Ecology and Louise Newport, Scientific Policy Manager, UK Department of Health. This will be followed by an opportunity for networking and a speech by Walter Menzies.

To register for one of the events, or to find further information, click here.

The NWCCP is a group of organisations that work together to enhance the delivery of a shared vision of a low carbon and well adapting Cheshire & Warrington, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, and Liverpool City Region. The activity of the NWCCP is supported by Climate UK and is hosted by The Environment Agency.

Climate UK is the national face of local climate action with a network of nine climate change partnerships in England and the three devolved administrations of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Their role is to facilitate a bottom up, nationwide response to climate change by bringing together knowledge and technical expertise from every part of the UK to tackle the challenges and opportunities we face - a national response that reflects local circumstances, local risks and local opportunities.