Climate Assembly UK update ahead of Weekend 2 in Birmingham on 7-9 Feb
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The newly elected Select Committee Chairs underline their support
for Climate Assembly UK in advance of its second weekend
meeting This weekend sees the second meeting of
Climate Assembly UK in Birmingham at which 110 people,
representative of the public, debate issues that will directly
affect their lives: how we travel, heat our homes and what we buy.
The assembly, commissioned by six cross-party House of
Commons Select Committees, was...Request free trial
The newly elected Select Committee Chairs underline their support for Climate Assembly UK in advance of its second weekend meeting
This weekend sees the second meeting of Climate Assembly UK in Birmingham at which 110 people, representative of the public, debate issues that will directly affect their lives: how we travel, heat our homes and what we buy.
The assembly, commissioned by six cross-party House of Commons Select Committees, was set up to give people a say in how we meet the UK’s legally binding target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050.
Ahead of the second meeting of Climate Assembly UK in Birmingham this weekend (7-9 February), the newly elected Chairs of the six Select Committees have stated the need to better understand public preferences on how the UK should reach net zero (quotes below).
Weekend two: 7-9th February This weekend, assembly members begin to learn about energy supply and how we use that energy. They will then break into three groups to consider different topic areas of ‘how we travel’, ‘in the home’, ‘what we buy’ and ‘food, farming and land use’. These discussions will continue during the third weekend (Feb 28- March 1). For each topic, members will hear evidence on various options for what the UK could do to reach net zero emissions by 2050 and the different levers for making change happen.
Assembly members will hear presentations from a wide range of speakers and have the opportunity to interrogate them. For example, on transport, the speakers will discuss how to cut emissions from cars and alternative methods of transport and the potential implications of decarbonisation while advocates from the University of the West of England and Voltera will further the discussion and offer differing views on how to make change happen. A full list of panellists and speakers is available in advance, under embargo, from the Climate Assembly UK website.
Professor Jim Watson, one of the Assembly’s four Expert Leads, will provide an overview of surface transport and aviation. Speaking ahead of the weekend, he explained:
“Transport includes the journeys we undertake during our normal daily lives such as going to work, school or the shops, visiting relatives or going on holiday. Over the next two weekends we’ll be considering how we use both surface transport (like trains, cars, buses, walking and cycling) and air travel.
All six Chair-elects have welcomed the opportunity to hear the views of the Assembly members and noted the value of the Assembly’s outcomes for informing their committees’ future work.
Clive Betts MP, Chair-elect of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee: “The Climate Assembly UK is a positive step in engaging all sectors of society in understanding the issues that climate change may cause and examining solutions. The HCLG Committee has seen the value of citizens assemblies in our work on social care and I look forward to seeing the Climate Assembly’s conclusions.”
Greg Clark MP, Chair-elect of the Science and Technology Committee: “Our 2050 net-zero target has established the UK as a global leader in the race to limit climate change. Ensuring that new technologies and new policies are adopted in a fair and practical manner is critical, so hearing where the Citizens’ Assembly has reached consensus on these issues is vitally important.”
Philip Dunne MP, Chair-elect of the Environmental Audit Committee: “We are all too aware of the pressing climate emergency. As we move away from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources, how people eat, travel and use energy in their homes will be brought into focus. With Climate Assembly UK considering these issues, I look forward to learning your views to inform our wider work as we move towards a prosperous, low-carbon future.”
Huw Merriman MP, Chair-elect of the Transport Select Committee: “How we decarbonise UK transport requires careful consideration: investment in technologies such as electric cars will be important, but so will our own decisions as responsible citizens about how we travel. Climate Assembly UK gives us the opportunity to test how far the public will go in behaviour change. Without listening, we risk losing the public’s appetite to drive real change.”
Rachel Reeves, Chair-elect of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee: “Climate change will have an impact on the way we all live which highlights the importance of engaging the public in the actions needed to tackle the climate emergency. I’m grateful to assembly members for giving up their time to learn about these issues and discuss the best course of action and it’s vital that, at the end of this process, the Government sits up and takes notice”.
Mel Stride MP, Chair-Elect of the Treasury Committee: “The country must work together if it is to achieve net zero by 2050. Climate Assembly UK provides a great opportunity for the public to advise Parliament on real actions that the UK can take to end its contribution to climate change.”
Further information: The evidence presented to the Assembly is balanced, accurate and offers a range of views. To share it as widely as possible, evidence sessions featuring expert speakers will be livestreamed beyond the meeting room with presentations and briefings also available from the Climate Assembly website: www.climateassembly.uk All background information on how the assembly works and the people involved is also available from the Climate Assembly UK website. Following elections for Select Committee Chairs last week, three new Committee Chairs were elected (Greg Clark MP, Philip Dunne MP and Huw Merriman MP) and three were re-elected to serve on their committees (Clive Betts MP, Rachel Reeves MP and Mel Stride MP). Of the six committees, four are now chaired by Conservative members and two are chaired by Labour members. The full membership of the committees – yet to be appointed – will broadly reflect each party’s share of seats in the House of Commons. Attendance at weekend two: There is limited availability for media representatives to attend Climate Assembly UK this weekend. Please direct all inquiries regarding attendance at any part of Saturday or Sunday to Tom Howard-Vyse t: 07920 269 477 e: tom@climateassembly.uk
A press pack with operational details and basic information will be provided to journalists arriving at the venue.
Weekend itinerary: The presentations from the media briefings have been attached. A full list of speakers will also made available at 09.15 today on a private page on the Assembly website using this weblink: https://www.climateassembly.uk/meetings/february-7/ |