Roger Higman, Head of Campaign Coordination, Friends of the Earth
09:15 |
Roger Higman is 46. Born and bred in Oxford, Roger became a keen cyclist and birdwatcher at an early age.
His interest in the environment was stimulated by the first hand experience he gained of the impact of major road-building while a studying geography at the London School of Economics (LSE) - he was a tenant of the Department of Transport, living in a house since demolished to make way for the Hackney-M11 Link Road.
A few years after graduating in 1983, Roger became a volunteer at Friends of the Earth and was appointed to a paid position in late1985. For the next three and a half years, he worked to promote traffic calming, cycling and walking - helping local residents campaign to close rat runs and press for better road maintenance.
In 1988, he left Friends of the Earth to join the Civic Trust for whom he campaigned to promote community-based regeneration projects in inner city districts like Kirby and Brixton. He also moonlighted for the Hackney No Through Road Campaign, one of the many community groups that fought off road-building in the capital.
Roger re-joined Friends of the Earth in 1990 as Transport Campaigner with special responsibility for the National Roads Programme. For five years he fought road projects up and down the country including those against the M3 through Twyford Down, the East London River Crossing through Oxleas Wood, the Newbury bypass and the proposed widening of the M25.
In September, 1995, Roger was appointed Senior Campaigner (Atmosphere and Transport) for Friends of the Earth - to head a small team of campaigners whose issues covered transport policy, air quality, vehicle emissions and aviation. In June 2000, following a staff re-organisation, Roger took responsibility for Friends of the Earth's new enlarged Climate and Transport team, whose responsibilities include climate change, energy policy and campaigns against nuclear power, as well as most of the issues covered in his previous role. As such, Roger played a key role in Friends of the Earth International's delegations to the world climate summits in The Hague and Bonn in 2000 and 2001 and Friends of the Earth's domestic campaigns over the Energy White Paper.
Roger lives in north-east London. In 2002 he completed a part-time masters in European Politics, for which he received a distinction. He has still never had a driving lesson, but does have a renewable electricity tariff.
In early 2004, Roger was given two new, broad-ranging roles at Friends of the Earth. Firstly, he coordinates activity across the organisation to make sure its environmental policies are consistent and to ensure they demonstrate the many ways in which environmental limits are being broken. Secondly, he is responsible for making sure that Friends of the Earth develops and promotes practical solutions for each of the environmental, social and economic problems that it tries to address. He is also the team leader in Friends of the Earth’s New Economics and Trade team
In 2006, Roger was appointed to the Senior Management team at Friends of the Earth to coordinate its campaigning and lead work on biodiversity. |
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Moira Wallace, Permanent Secretary, DECC
09:20 |
Moira Wallace was appointed Permanent Secretary of the Department of Energy and Climate Change on 13 November 2008. Moira began her career with 10 years in HM Treasury, including 3 years as Private Secretary to Nigel Lawson and John Major as Chancellors of the Exchequer. She was Economic Affairs Private Secretary to the Prime Minister from 1995 to 1997. She established and led the Cabinet Office Social Exclusion Unit from 1997 to 2002, and joined the Home Office in 2002. From 2002 2005, Moira set up and ran the Office for Criminal Justice Reform, a joint venture between the three criminal justice departments. From 2005, Moira was Home Office Director General for crime and policing. |
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Presentation:
The role that the new department will play in driving the UK's climate change bill forward and how the UK will approach the Copenhagen Climate Change Summit.
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Dr Debbie Hemming, Manager, Climate Impacts Analysis, Met Office Hadley Centre
09:40 |
Dr Hemming has over 22 years of worldwide climate and research experience. In her current specialist role at the Met Office Hadley Centre, as Manager of Climate Impacts Analysis, she assists a wide range of organisations to understand and communicate impacts and risk of climate change.
Graduating with a BSc (Honours) in Physical Geography, an MSc (Distinction) in Applied Meteorology & Climatology and obtaining a Plant Sciences PhD from Cambridge, Dr Hemming has had a series of work published around her global research in climate modelling and analysis. As an expert in climate risk analysis and impacts assessment, she is a member of several Professional Societies and institutions including the Society for Risk Analysis, American Geophysical Union and the Cambridge Philosophical Society.
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Presentation: The latest scientific news on climate change
The evidence is stark and the time-lines disturbing, Dr Debbie Hemming will discuss the latest scientific news regarding climate change and how we can adapt to the changing climate.
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Richard Rugg, Head of Public Sector, The Carbon Trust
10:00 |
Richard Rugg is Head of Public Sector for the Carbon Trust. Appointed in March 2003, he is responsible for providing public sector organisations with support and guidance to cut their carbon emissions and reduce energy costs. Richard advises government departments, local authorities, universities, and NHS bodies throughout the UK on how to embed carbon management into the day-to-day business of their organisations. Richard has directed the Carbon Trust’s Public Sector Carbon Management programmes since their launch in 2003 and currently has 215 local authorities, 65 universities and 49 NHS organisations taking part in these programmes. Prior to joining the Carbon Trust, Richard worked in the investment sector for three years before joining a sustainability-focused charitable organisation in East Africa. He studied Law at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth and was later awarded an MSc Econ in International Politics. |
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Presentation:
At a time of economic decline the public sector needs more than ever to demonstrate through strong leadership that saving carbon saves money. The Carbon Trust has to date provided advice and guidance to over 2,500 public sector bodies to help them identify and implement savings of over 5 MtCO2 and £530m. Its support is designed to help organisations overcome the key barriers to carbon reduction be they technical or behavioural. Furthermore through Salix Finance the Carbon Trust helps public sector bodies to address the financial barriers to carbon reduction and this year will be allocating over £50m in fully funded, interest free loans to promote energy efficiency.
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Toby Allen, Director of Marketing, EDF Energy
10:15 |
Toby Allen is the Director of Marketing within the B2B section of EDF Energy, the largest electricity supplier to British business and the public sector, by volume. His team is committed to helping customers move towards a low carbon economy. More recently, his team has held numerous Café Energy workshops on the Carbon Reduction Commitment covering the mechanics, risks and opportunities of the scheme.
Previously with EDF Energy’s Corporate Regulation Team, Toby had worked on developing EDF Energy's input into the UK Government's review of energy policy, which led to an involvement with new nuclear. Toby has also been actively involved in the integration of EDF Energy and British Energy.
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Presentation: A low carbon energy mix for the UK
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Simon Clydesdale, Senior Policy Adviser, Greenpeace UK
14:45 |
Simon Clydesdale is Senior Policy Advisor in the Policy and Solutions Unit at Greenpeace UK. His main focus is on climate and energy issues, but he also works on forests, transport and marine issues. His role links Greenpeace campaigns and solutions with decision-makers in the policy world in Westminster, Brussels and Holyrood.
He started his Greenpeace career working on renewable energy, with a particular focus on wind energy. He then worked on nuclear disarmament in the run-up to the Government’s decision to renew Trident, before moving to work on policy and solutions across a range of campaigns. When not focusing on policy and delivery he makes himself available for Greenpeace actions. Simon previously worked for the Free Tibet Campaign.
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Presentation: Planet under Pressure
Climate change impacts will place increasing pressure on global resources, economies and security. Climate science makes clear the pathway required for a low carbon world but is an effective policy routemap in place in the UK and internationally to tackle the drivers of climate change? What must Copenhagen deliver?
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Simon Hughes MP, Liberal Democrat Shadow Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change
15:05 |
Simon Hughes is Liberal Democrat Shadow Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change and leads the Liberal Democrat environment team.
Simon Hughes is the longest serving member of the Liberal Democrat Shadow Cabinet and was Liberal Democrat Federal President from 2004 2008. He was elected to Parliament as the youngest opposition MP in 1983 on a record swing of 51%. Simon was re-elected for the enlarged Southwark and Bermondsey constituency in 1983, 1987 and 1992 and re-elected for North Southwark and Bermondsey in 1997, 2001 and 2005.
Simon stood twice for the Liberal Democrat leadership in 1999 and 2005 and in 2004 was the Liberal Democrat candidate for London Mayor.
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Dr Bernie Bulkin, Commissioner for Climate Change, Energy and Transport, Sustainable Development Commission
15:05 |
Bernie Bulkin is commissioner for Climate Change, Energy and Transport.
He has written and spoken extensively on these topics. Dr Bulkin is a member of the DECC Energy Board, the Board of Governors of Argonne National Lab in the US, chairman of AEA Technology plc, Chemrec AB, a non-executive director of Servern Trent plc, Ze-gen Inc and Accelergy Corporation, a Professorial Fellow of Murray Edwards College, Cambridge where he directs the New Hall Centre for the Environment, and serves on numerous charitable boards. He is a Venture Partner of Vantage Point, a leading US Venture Capital firm. Dr Bulkin was formerly Chief Scientist of BP.
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Jenny Holland, Parliamentary Co-ordinator, Association for the Conservation of Energy (UKACE)
15:05 |
Jenny is Head of Parliamentary Campaigns at the Association for the Conservation of Energy. In her six years in the role, she has overseen a number of high profile campaigns that have led to major changes in the law on energy-efficiency. These have included several Private Members’ Bills notably the 2003 Sustainable Energy Act and the 2006 Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Act and an amendment to the Government’s 2004 Housing Act that introduced for the first time a binding target to increase household energy-efficiency by 20% by 2010. She is currently promoting a Bill to give statutory force to the Government’s oft-repeated commitment to procure only buildings in the top quartile of energy performance.
Jenny was educated at King’s College, Cambridge, where she graduated in law and went on to qualify as a solicitor. She has worked in the political arena for more than a decade first as Political Organiser to an MEP and, immediately prior to joining ACE, as Political Assistant to David Chaytor MP. While working in Parliament, Jenny was Chair of the TGWU Parliamentary Branch and led the union’s successful campaign for improved pay and conditions for MPs’ staff.
Away from ACE, Jenny does occasional work as a freelance Parliamentary Consultant, specialising in sustainable energy issues. She was recently involved in a major campaign to encourage the use of renewable transport fuels.
Jenny also represents Harlow West on Essex County Council. She is a member of the East of England Environment & Resources Panel, the Essex Waste Management Advisory Board and the Stansted Airport Consultative Committee.
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