The Westminster Sustainable Business Forum (WSBF) and the All Party Parliamentary Climate Change group are holding an event to explore different aspects of developing city resilience in the context of climate change adaptation and mitigation.

More than half the global population now lives in cities and, according to the United Nations, this is set to rise to three-quarters by the year 2050. What’s more, the world’s cities currently account for approximately three quarters of global greenhouse gas emissions. This makes the impact of climate change, environmentally, economically and socially, more concentrated in urban areas, and makes actions at the city level more vital than ever.

The effects on our weather systems of climate change are likely to be severe. Extreme weather events, such as flooding, will occur more frequently, air pollution will pose an increasingly large risk to public health, and water scarcity threatens the viability of a city to support its citizens and its economy.

The vast majority of our cities' infrastructure will still be standing in the medium to long-term future, creating a pressing need to discuss how we build in resilience to climate change, lower emissions from cities, and make them more pleasant places to live.

With the government’s Emissions Reduction Plan and 25 year plan for the environment due shortly, this event will bring together actors from various sectors to think about how we work together to secure the future of our urban landscapes and their populations.  

Chair:

Lord Redesdale

Speakers:

Ant Wilson, AECOM Director, Building Engineering Europe

Dr Kevin Burchell, Policy Studies Institute, University of Westminster

Mark Ellis-Jones, Manager (Energy, Adaptation & Emerging Issues), Environment Agency

Further speakers to be confirmed shortly.

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Register here!