Climate change debate brought to Yorkshire as summit to be held to coincide with COP 26

The Climate Change Summit will be staged on Tuesday November 9 in Leeds and will bring together a range of politicians, business leaders, academics and media.

Timed to coincide with the UK holding the United Nation’s COP 26 event in Glasgow, The Yorkshire Post is bringing the debate to the region to discuss the challenges that Yorkshire

faces and discuss the best way forward to achieve our shared goals.

The conference will take place at Leeds tech firm AQL’s Salem Chapel venue, bringing together around 150 to 200 attendees and speakers to the live event, which will then be broadcast to the wider virtual audience.

Both the live and virtual offerings will be fully interactive, ensuring engagement regardless of your location.

The event will cover a range of areas including energy, skills, manufacturing, agriculture and connectivity.

Yorkshire is already home to a number of green energy initiatives and investments, with offshore wind and carbon capture among the areas the region is leading on.

Recent figures from the Local Government Agency predicted as many as 158,000 green energy jobs could be created in Yorkshire alone by 2050.

The event already has the backing of several leading businesses, with Rotherham engineering firm AESSEAL on board as headline sponsor.

Chris Rea, founder and managing director of AESSEAL, is backing the summit.

He said: “We believe the transition to a net-zero economy is the standout opportunity for our region and that’s why we are backing The Yorkshire Post Climate Change Summit 2021 – to put environmentally friendly business behaviour at centre stage as the UK recovers from the pandemic.

“Yorkshire can lead the way in this next industrial revolution, with factories of the future run by solar panels, ground source heat pumps, voltage optimisation and batteries.

“If you need any evidence of the importance of the climate agenda, look at the crippling floods, droughts and heatwaves taking place across our planet.”

Mr Rea is also the founder of Betterworld.Solutions, an initiative which is designed to show how climate-friendly investments can also be good for business.

It does this by sharing cutting-edge examples of best practice in the use of readily available environmental technologies. Also joining as sponsors are logistics operator Hermes and banking giant NatWest.

A spokesperson for NatWest said: “As the leading bank in the UK for business customers, and one of the largest for retail customers, we have a significant responsibility in tackling climate change.

“While we understand that we must think long term, we also know that we must act quickly and in partnership with both the private and public sectors.

“We are delighted to support The Yorkshire Post Climate Change Summit. We know there will be some excellent discussions on how Yorkshire businesses and the wider community can work together to fight climate change.”

Mark Casci, business editor of The Yorkshire Post, said: “Climate change has, without question, rocketed to the top of business leader’s priorities in recent years.

“Yorkshire is blessed with a geography and skill network that makes it an ideal destination for many green energy industries. The region as a whole has the potential and capacity to create well-paid, high-skilled jobs in this sector for generations to come.

“The green agenda will create the latest industrial revolution and, just as it did in the first industrial revolution, Yorkshire will be a worldwide powerhouse on this most vital of societal changes.”

Earlybird tickets to our 2021 Climate Change Summit are now available until Friday, September 3. Visit: www.yorkshireclimatechange.co.uk.

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MEET THE SPEAKERS

Chris Rea, Founder, Betterworld.Solutions and founder and managing director, AESSEAL

"The Betterworld.Solutions initiative encourages companies to adopt and operate an investment policy to prevent global warming. Businesses have opportunities to improve the environment and prevent global warming but sometimes fail to identify them. Our suppliers, co-workers and customers can bring environmental sustainability initiatives to our attention, but only if we make listening to them a business priority."

Professor Adam Beaumont, Founder & Chairman – aql

An innovator with a strong cyber-security background, Professor Beaumont is founder of communications specialist aql and CEO of Isle of Man-based telecommunications company BlueWave. An active angel investor, Adam founded NorthInvest which propels co-investment in tech start-ups across the North.

Andy Gouldson, Professor of Environmental Policy at the University of Leeds & Director of Yorkshire and Humber Climate Commission

Andy has worked on a range of issues relating to environmental policy and management since 1990. Since 2008, his focus has been on climate change and promoting low-carbon, climate-resilient development. Throughout his career he has worked with policy makers, development agencies, businesses, NGOs and communities in the UK and internationally.

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MEET THE SPONSORS

Betterworld.Solutions

The purpose of the Betterworld.Solutions initiative is to encourage companies to adopt, publish and operate an investment policy to prevent global warming. Our businesses have opportunities to improve the environment but we sometimes fail to identify them. Our suppliers, co-workers and customers can bring sustainability initiatives to our attention, but only if we make listening to them a business priority.

aql

Founded in 1998 by Professor Adam Beaumont, aql is a trusted communications provider specialising in secure and reliable wholesale access to fixed and mobile networks for government, enterprise and innovators. The company is responsible for over 100 million telephone numbers for UK ISPs and operators. aql routes millions of SMS text messages per day and operates a wide-reaching connected national network.

The Yorkshire & Humber Climate Commission statement

The Yorkshire & Humber Climate Commission statement is: “Advancing the region’s climate leadership and accelerating climate resilient, net-zero development through an inclusive and just transition.”

NatWest

NatWest serves customers in England and Wales, supporting them with their personal, private, business banking needs. As the leading bank in the UK for business customers, and one of the largest for retail customers, we have a significant responsibility in tackling climate change. While we understand that we must think long term, we also know that we must act quickly and in partnership with both the private and the public sectors.

Hermes

Hermes UK, which has roots in Yorkshire, is one of the UK’s leading consumer delivery companies.

The company has experienced sustainable double-digit growth for the past 10 years, consistently reinvesting profit into its proposition, infrastructure and people, including developing an award-winning app and building a nationwide estate of more than 5,500 ParcelShops and InPost lockers.