Events

Journalist and author of 39 Ways to Save the Planet and Landsmart, kicked off the day with a talk on how locals transform the countryside so that food, energy and nature can all thrive in a way which sustains life and the planet.

From the Climate Emergency Collaboration Group, Sarah spoke about international cooperation on climate change. There was a debate as to whether the huge international negotiations known as COPs made a difference and whether big business, including fossil fuel companies, were too influential. Sarah maintained that COPs played an important role in getting Governments around the world to engage and sign up to targets. Climate justice was raised and how countries' contributions can be fair, given both their historical and current carbon emissions. Sarah made a robust defence of why it was incredibly important for the UK to continue to be engaged despite its own emissions having fallen recently to below 1% of the globe's total.

Author of The Joyful Environmentalist, Isabel took attendees through a great range of practical things they can do to reduce their own contribution to carbon emissions from changing bank accounts (Triodos best, Barclays worst) to changing energy suppliers (Ecotricity the best and British Gas the worst). She urged attendees to delete as much as they could from the cloud and to buy less.  She reminded the audience that the top five contributors to climate change were energy production, manufacturing and heavy industry, agriculture, transport, and the fashion industry, but with data use a growing component.  All of these aspects are covered in her book.