Member Article

Climate change conference returns to Middlesbrough

National and international climate change experts will converge on Middlesbrough next month for a major conference.

Local Action on Climate Change - Challenges and Opportunities will take place at the Middlesbrough Teaching and Learning Centre on Tuesday 10 and Wednesday 11 March.

The conference will address the impact of changing climate patterns - and what can be done to meet the challenges created, both locally and further afield.

The event follows Middlesbrough’s hosting of its first national Climate Change Conference in 2007 and recognition by the Government that the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced by 80% over the next four decades.

The event, aimed primarily at local authorities, will examine the impact of local actions, how to engage with the business, voluntary and community sectors as well as individuals and households.

The two-day conference will be chaired by Sara Parkin OBE of Forum for the Future, with a welcome speech from Middlesbrough Mayor Ray Mallon.

Speakers will include Joan Ruddock, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State with the Department of Energy and Climate Change, and George Marshall, author of ‘Carbon Detox’ and founder of the Climate Outreach and Information Network.

During their visit to Middlesbrough, delegates will also have an opportunity to see some of the work already being carried out in the Tees Valley with visits to Middlesbrough’s Green Flag parks, trips to the Tees Barrage and Centre for Process Innovation and a boat trip out to the mouth of the Tees.

Middlesbrough Mayor Ray Mallon said: “We know we need to change our behaviour and in Middlesbrough a lot of good work has already been done. But there is much more we can do as an authority - and our citizens can do as individuals - to address what is a truly global problem at a local level. This conference is a fantastic opportunity to share ideas and come up with innovative solutions which will have an impact for many years to come.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .