This week, we held our Winter reception in the House of Lords to discuss the sustainability priorities for the new Parliament. The event, chaired by Policy Connect’s head of sustainability, Claudia Jaksch, provided a forum for policy-makers, business leaders, industry members, academics, and third sector organisations to discuss the key challenges in sustainability that need to be tackled over the next five years.

Our actions, particularly in the early years of this Parliament will set the tone for transition to a low carbon economy, and will be crucial if we are to meet this Government’s target of reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050.  2020 also represents an important year for the UK, as global leaders meet in Glasgow in November to discuss the climate crisis at the COP26 summit.

They keynote address was delivered by Minister for Climate Change, Lord Duncan of Springbank, who spoke about the need to prioritise the decarbonisation of home heating ahead of COP26, as called for in our recent report Uncomfortable Home Truths.

Guest speakers also included Shadow Environment Secretary Luke Pollard MP, Liberal Democrat Climate and Energy Spokesperson Wera Hobhouse MP, SNP Energy and Climate Change Spokesperson Alan Brown MP, Head of Politics at Greenpeace Rebecca Newsom, and Director of Analysis at the Committee on Climate Change Mike Thompson.  The need for fast, effective and decisive action on the climate crisis was emphasised by all speakers, as well as a focus on cross-party collaboration.