On 28th June 2007 Vision 21 and Gloucester City Council ran a ‘Challenging Climate Change Conference’ for businesses at Gloucester Docks.

Presentations given at the event are available below:

• Gerry Metcalf, UKCIP (UK Climate Impacts Programme) - A Changing Climate for Business
• Graham Stanley, Vision 21 - Grid-locked Britain?
• Simone Mann, Commercial - Becoming a carbon neutral company?
• Carole Bond, Envirowise - Understanding the Threats and Discovering the Opportunities
• Charlie Watson, EX CEO Hertfordshire County Council - Local Authorities – Here to Help?
• Lucie Davis, Severn Wye Energy Agency - Start Saving Energy in your Organisation
• Lucie Davis - Calculations for carbon footprint relating to direct energy use
• Lucie Davis - Energy monitors for individual appliances

Climate change is probably the biggest challenge facing humanity. How we respond to climate change will have enormous consequences for life in the 21st century, both in Gloucestershire and across the globe.

Many of the worst impacts will be felt in the developing world where changes to agriculture, water supplies and extreme weather disasters could produce a humanitarian crisis. The knock-on effect of economic depression abroad, food scarcity and environmental refugees could also significantly impact upon our lives in the UK.

Climate change will be felt directly at home, too. Here in Gloucestershire, average annual temperatures have risen by 1°C over the last 60 years; Cheltenham held the record for the highest temperature ever recorded in the UK (37.1°C in 1990) until the summer heat wave of 2003 which killed over 2,000 people in the UK. We can expect to see more droughts, increased flooding of local rivers, extreme weather and higher temperatures.

So what can we do about it? The more we do to prevent climate change, the less we will feel the consequences of change. This is why every step towards reducing emissions is important.

The UK Government has pledged to reduce our carbon emissions by 60% by 2050. Around 37% of the UK’s carbon emissions come from business – over 60 million tonnes of carbon were released into the atmosphere from business activities in 2000 (House of Commons, 2006). Businesses can make a big difference to the UK’s efforts to tackle climate change.

The conference gave organisations insight into some of the things they can do to reduce climate change. Many of the steps businesses can take will save money and help promote the business as a socially responsible organisation.

Challenging climate change is about protecting our quality of life. For businesses, it’s about working together to secure a sustainable future in which our resources and economy are protected. It’s also about anticipating changes, taking advantage of new opportunities in developing a low carbon economy and preparing for the road ahead.

Together, this generation can tackle climate change.

A further event took place at Cheltenham Town Hall on Monday 23rd July, 8 am – 12 noon. Click here to see presentations.