Getting to Net Zero
An events series by the CPS and Aviva
The UK’s commitment to Net Zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 will not be an easy task. This series of panel discussions explored how Net Zero provides both opportunities and challenges for the current Government, looked at the road to Net Zero in a range of different areas including transport, energy, buildings, and financial services, and asked key questions about how we can hit the 2050 target and the role of industry, government and the public in this.
Drawing expertise from key policymakers, business leaders and politicians, our events aimed to generate new ideas and debate the best way to embark on the crucial journey to reach Net Zero by 2050. Our events took place throughout the Autumn and were launched with our first installment at Conservative Party Conference with the Rt Hon Dame Andrea Leadsom MP, Ben Houchen and Dr Frank Luntz.
Following this there was a series of webinars throughout the Autumn delving into the specifics of the Net Zero challenge across the key industries of transport, energy, buildings, and financial services.
We were delighted to deliver this series with Aviva, whose plan to become a Net Zero carbon emissions company by 2040 and to contribute to a sustainable economic recovery is already well underway. This target, the most demanding of any major insurance company in the world today, will be met by gradually cutting carbon intensity of investments, of its own operations and supply chain over the years, as well as divesting from companies which make more than 5% of their revenue from coal unless they have signed up to the Science Based Targets initiative.
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Getting to Net Zero: how can we decarbonise in time?
We debated the big questions around Net Zero: how can public support be maintained, what role will key sectors such as finance play, and how can we do it in time? Watch here.
Getting to Net Zero: driving down emissions from transport – decarbonising transport
The second installment in our event series Getting to Net Zero examined how the decarbonisation of transport could help build a more renewable-intensive grid, the positive effects it could have for other environmental issues and discussed emissions across the transport sector, with a particular focus on surface transport and harder to abate elements. Watch here.
Getting to Net Zero: Powering a greener tomorrow – decarbonising the energy supply
In the third installment in our event series, Getting to Net Zero, we looked at the whole energy system and what needs to happen in order for it to decarbonise in time to meet our Net Zero target. The panel explored which technologies needed to get a sustainable energy mix that can keep the lights on and our homes warm, as well as discussing how energy can be cleaned up without harming the fuel poor or lowering Britain’s industrial competitiveness. Watch here.
Getting to Net Zero: On solid green foundations – decarbonising the energy supply
For the fourth installment in our event series, Getting to Net Zero, our panel considered emissions generated in the construction and ‘operation’ of buildings, and in both residential and commercial developments – and explored ways of improving the sustainability of constructing our homes and other buildings as well as planning reforms that allow densification to help cut emissions of everyday life. Watch here.
Getting to Net Zero: Financing the Future – the role of financial services in getting the economy to Net Zero
In the final instalment in our event series, Getting to Net Zero our panel considered the whole financial system and what needs to happen in order for it to get adequate capital into Net Zero solutions as well as exploring the risk that climate change poses to the financial services sector. Watch here.
