The fight against Covid-19 has resulted in very substantial changes for the economies of countries across the world, with large stimulus packages announced by a number of governments to counter the economic shock of the responding to the pandemic.
Many see this as a significant resetting of the global economy and hence an opportunity to implement the changes long called for by the climate movement in order to prevent warming above 1.5 degrees: wide-scale green public investment, including stimulating jobs in the zero-carbon economy to mitigate rising unemployment; "green strings" being attached to company or industry bail-out money; economic assistance going to vulnerable individuals and communities; aligning government spending with the most ambitious goals of the Paris Agreement.
This seminar will discuss the opportunities for a climate positive economy after Covid-19 and what steps need to be taken to grasp these opportunities.
Programme
16h00 Online platform opens
16h15 Welcome
16h20 Panel Discussion
Chair: Estelle Dehon, barrister at Cornerstone Barristers & UKELA trustee
Speakers: 10 mins each
- Sue Pritchard, Chief Executive of the Food, Farming & Countryside Commission
- Farhana Yamin, Founder, Track 0, international environmental lawyer & activist
- Rajiv Joshi, Founding Member, The B Team : speaking on a theme of 'Transforming leadership in uncertain times: building bridges now for a better future'
16h50 Q&A
17h10 Close
Booking essential. Please log in to register your place, We look forward to welcoming you!
Our speakers and Chair
Estelle Dehon is a public law barrister at Cornerstone Barristers. She is recognised as a leading barrister in environment and planning law, with particular expertise in climate change matters and in advising on how development can comply with net-zero carbon requirements. Estelle appeared in the leading recent Court of Appeal case on environmental impact assessment; she has acted for NGOs and community groups opposing fracking, acidisation, open cast coal mining, oil drilling and airport expansion and advised XR and others in relation to climate protests. Her broader public law work includes an ongoing challenge to the government over failures to provide Personal Protective Equipment to frontline NHS workers. Estelle was named as one of The Planner's Women of Influence in both 2018 and 2019 and was nominated by Chambers & Partners as 2019 Planning and Environmental Barrister of the Year (in the non-QC category). She is member of the Council of the UK Environmental Law Association and is a trustee of the Women’s Environmental Network.
Rajiv Joshi – Rajiv is an activist, economist, and business leader. He is a Founding Member and former MD of The B Team, a not-for-profit initiative formed by a group of the world’s most influential CEOs to catalyse better business practices for people and planet. He is currently developing a platform for cultural transformation and radical collaboration called Bridging Ventures and is Special Advisor to Mission 2020, convened by former UN Climate Chief Christiana Figueres. Rajiv is Executive-in- Residence at Oxford University’s Saïd Business School and Research Scholar at Columbia University, School of International and Public Affairs. He previously drove the Global Call to Action Against Poverty, founded by Nelson Mandela, was a Trustee of Oxfam, and is former Chair of the Scottish Youth Parliament.
Sue Pritchard is Chief Executive of the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission. FFCC is a new independent charity set up to help develop and implement the recommendations in the RSA Food Farming and Countryside Commission inquiry, which published its report Our Future in the Land in July 2019. Now, in phase two, FFCC is shifting gear from ideas generation to the different challenge of implementing them, turning them into practical actions and real change at national and local scale with partners across the UK. Sue’s background is in leading change for more sustainable futures, as a consultant, practitioner, researcher and writer. Sue has worked with businesses, governments and enterprises on their strategy, culture and leadership, for over thirty years, most recently with a focus on the delivery of major and complex government projects. Alongside a number of ‘Visiting Fellow’ and board level public appointments, Sue has relished the chance, over the years, to blend the academic and the practical, strategizing and action, for whole systems change. Sue lives on an organic, permaculture livestock farm in Wales, with her family. The farm is home to a charity, the Silver Birch Foundation, which provides education, training and development for disaffected young people, in partnership with local schools.
Farhana Yamin is a climate change lawyer, author, public speaker and activist. She has provided high level strategic and legal advice to leaders of vulnerable countries for over 30 years. She was Lead Author of three assessment reports for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, has published books on climate law and carbon markets. She has held various academic posts including as Visiting Professor at University College London. In 2014 Ms Yamin founded Track 0 which created a collaborative campaign that is widely credited with getting the goal of net-zero emission by 2050 into the Paris Agreement. In 2018 She joined Extinction Rebellion (XR) as Coordinator of the Political Strategy Team and was part of its Fundraising Team. She played a central role in the rebellion including getting arrested in April 2019 for gluing herself to the HQ of the oil giant, Shell. Currently Ms Yamin is a coordinator of Camden Council’s Think and Do community Climate Pop Up. She is an Associate Fellow at Chatham House, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a Senior Advisor for Systemiq, a Trustee for Greenpeace-UK and Julie's Bicycle, and a member the Programme Committee of WWF-UK.