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UPDATED 1 Sept: The EI library in London is temporarily closed to the public, as a precautionary measure in light of the ongoing COVID-19 situation. The Knowledge Service will still be answering email queries via email , or via live chats during working hours (09:15-17:00 GMT). Our e-library is always open for members here: eLibrary , for full-text access to over 200 e-books and millions of articles. Thank you for your patience.
Urgency demands inclusivity - EI President joins NGOs to discuss climate change
EI President Steve Holliday appealed for a more inclusive approach to fighting climate change, as he debated the need for urgent action with co-panellists at Energy Live EXPO in Westminster in November.
He was joined on the platform by representatives of environmental NGOs – Kirsty Gogan of Energy For Humanity and Adam Woodhall of Extinction Rebellion – and by Mike Hughes of Schneider Electric UK.
Holliday stated that while the UK has made ‘enormous progress’, he called for a big tent approach to increase the pace of change
and the chances of success.
Addressing a 450 strong audience, he first called for an end to rivalries between technologies – ‘we need all the low carbon technologies available to us’, he said. He then called for the capabilities of all companies, new and old, to play their full parts, including oil and companies which ‘have the capital, the intellectual and engineering capabilities to solve so many of these problems.’ He credited some with having ‘started on the journey, repurposing themselves,’ but asserted that ‘none has yet gone far enough.’
Addressing a 450 strong audience, he first called for an end to rivalries between technologies – ‘we need all the low carbon technologies available to us’, he said. He then called for the capabilities of all companies, new and old, to play their full parts, including oil and companies which ‘have the capital, the intellectual and engineering capabilities to solve so many of these problems.’ He credited some with having ‘started on the journey, repurposing themselves,’ but asserted that ‘none has yet gone far enough.’
Holliday’s final message related to the workforce itself, with a call for the energy sector to open itself up to women and to minorities. Tackling climate change ‘needs all the brains society has to offer’, he said. ‘Given it’s estimated 60% of the emissions reductions required to reach net-zero will involve some form of behavioural or societal change, how can we bring about that change if we don’t reflect that society.’
The panel was followed on the platform by UK Energy Minister Kwasi Kwarteng MP, who also discussed climate change and the net zero target. There is, he said, too often a ‘false battle’ between going green and pursuing growth and he told the audience that, in his view, the two directions are not mutually exclusive.
