September Lunchtime Lecture 

On Wednesday 29th September, we are delighted to welcome back Friends of the Earth to talk specifically about their objectives and campaigning strategies in the run-up to COP26. With an introduction from Hugh Knowles, Co-Executive Director at Friends of the Earth, we will hear from their lead International Climate Change Campaigner, Rachel Kennerley on what Friends of the Earth hopes to achieve both before, during and after COP26.

What is COP?

COP is an abbreviation of ‘Conference of the Parties’ to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) –  also known as the UN climate conference, climate talks, climate summit or climate negotiations! COPs have been taking place every year since 1995 – the Glasgow summit will be the 26th meeting of this kind which is why it’s known as COP26. COP26 is planned to take place on the 31st October – 11th November 2021 at the SEC in Glasgow.

The annual climate conference is the main forum for negotiations on global efforts to tackle the climate crisis. It is also a space where the reality of global geo-politics and global inequality is laid bare. In fact, climate justice activists have described these talks as “negotiating who lives and dies.”

About the Speakers

Hugh Knowles specialises in using futures intelligence and innovation processes to develop new ideas and experiment with tackling the big challenges of the 21st Century. He is Co-Executive Director at Friends of the Earth where he job shares with Miriam Turner.  He is one of the founders of BuggyAir (Winner Innovate UK IOT Launchpad) a device to track infant exposure to air pollution.

Hugh was Head of Innovation at Forum for the Future, an independent non-profit working globally with business, government and other organisations to solve sustainability challenges. He has a degree in Zoology and Ecology which was followed by a few years in the wilderness of IT consultancy. Rescued by the UK Centre for Economic and Environmental Development where he spent many days spent looking at waste electronics which led to the idea of the www.weeeman.org which resides at the Eden Project.

Rachel Kennerley is the lead International Climate Change Campaigner at Friends of the Earth. She has dedicated the last ten years to leading climate campaigns at the organisation covering issues such as fracking, resource use and is now spearheading Friends of the Earth’s involvement at COP26.