How can UK climate change policy expect to have any impact when booming cities in China are belching millions of tons of C02 everyday? Shouldn’t we focus on cleaning up electricity production in the emerging world before we build more windmills on British soil? But then again, wasn’t the “green new deal” all about creating jobs in a new sort of economy? Making Britain a leader in an industry of the future? Not to mention making us just a little less dependent for our energy on geo-politically unstable regions of the world…
 
All these questions and others will be tackled our our forthcoming debate, ‘London’s policy on climate change should begin in Beijing’. Taking place at the Royal Society on Thursday 20th October the event marks the start of Switched On - a series of debates, talks and discussions on energy in association with the International Herald Tribune and supported by Shell.
 
We’re proud to announce that the panel is now confirmed. Proposing the motion is Vicky Pryce, Joint Head of the United Kingdom’s Government Economic Service, and Simon Zadek, advisor on sustainability to the World Economic Forum. While on the opposition, we’ll see arguments from Malcolm Grimston, Honorary Fellow at Imperial College Centre for Environmental Technology and George Monbiot, Guardian columnist, activists and author of ‘Heat: how to stop the planet burning’. 

We hope you can join us for this provocative and nuanced debate.

Buy tickets.Visit the event microsite.