cc: "Goulden, Marisa" date: Thu, 26 Jul 2001 16:53:03 +0100 from: "Quinn, Rachel" subject: Draft programme for Royal Society Climate Change meeting to: "'m.hulme@uea.ac.uk'" Response requested by 3 August. Dear Mike, Good to see you last Friday and thanks for putting the links to the carbon sinks report on your website. DRAFT PROGRAMME: Please find attached the latest draft of the programme for the climate change meeting. Marisa and I have taken on board everyone's comments and suggestions and produced a composite programme. I hope that we have accommodated as many people's suggestions as possible. You will see that the majority of the speakers and discussants for Day 1 are in place and I have highlighted any uncertainties in yellow on the word document. I would be grateful for your advice on these. For Day 2 we have a list of possible sessions and a number of suggested speakers (both individuals and organisations). I would be grateful for your comments on both the sessions and speakers. NEXT STEPS: - We would like to finalise and invite the speakers in August so I would be grateful for your comments on these by the end of next week. I will forward additional stakeholder comments as they arrive. - At a later stage it will be necessary for speakers and discussants to discuss the content of their talks to ensure the correct balance. We suggest that one member of the Steering Group takes responsibility for co-ordinating this for each session. We had wondered whether you might be able to do this for Session 7 where the programme is essentially as you originally suggested. This will also involve collaboration with the Session Chair once they are appointed. Will you have time? COMMENTS FROM STAKEHOLDERS: We have circulated the draft programme (speakers & discussants removed) to a number of NGOs and also to English Nature. Everyone has welcomed the meeting and is keen to attend. Most have provided only very general comments about what they might want to get out of the meeting. They are as follows: - Would like to see a session on/consideration of the impact of climate change on biodiversity. This field has grown dramatically in the UK in the last couple of years and UK initiatives such as the Monarch project (due to report in Sept) is being emulated in other parts of Europe. - For each level of CO2 they would like to see a list of types of environmental damage that would occur at that level. - Would like to have probabilities of occurrence attached to the various socio-economic storylines i.e. some kind of quantification of risk of various things happening. - The key missing factor for me is the notion of prevention. How do we prevent GHG being emitted? All your discussion is around measuring impact, modelling change and mitigating change. It may be true that all these are important, but on the side we should be going hell for leather to prevent emissions - precautionary principle and all that. The evidence is that we can't wait for a joined up strategy. The sort of things we could be doing now to cut back on GHG radically are, in fact, extremely good for the economy and society as well as the environment. As well as the renewable energy, energy efficiency etc, what about including a session on the 'low carbon economy' - how to develop an approach to goods and services that uses 10 times less resource input. This has benefits to the economy, and society as well as the environment whether or not climate change is anthropogenically caused or not. If what the IPCC says is right, then going hell for leather for every option to reduce resource use in a way that doesn't stop the UK economy in its tracks is a top priority. Such an approach brings together the RS and scientists engaged with climate change, with the efforts of some policy makers (including the PIU in the Cabinet Office and DTI) to get resource productivity into Treasury and industry thinking. We are hoping to get comments from DEFRA, FCO and BP next week. I would be interested to know whether you have discussed the meeting with other stakeholders and whether they had and comments or suggestions concerning the programme. Please do not hesitate to phone me if that would be easier than e-mailing your comments. I am back in the office on Tues 31 July. Many thanks Rachel <> Dr Rachel Quinn Manager (Environment & Energy) Science Advice Section The Royal Society 6 Carlton House Terrace London SW1Y 5AG UK tel. +44 (0) 20 7451 2546 fax +44 (0) 20 7451 2692 e-mail rachel.quinn@royalsoc.ac.uk http://www.royalsoc.ac.uk Registered Charity No 207043 The Royal Society - promoting excellence in science This e-mail message has been scanned for viruses and spam by the e:)scan service. Attachment Converted: "c:\eudora\attach\RS climate programme 26_07.doc"