On Friday 21 April  2016 the Paris climate agreement was signed in New York. It will become legally enforceable in the UK. Education, research and finance form part of this agreement. The education sector has a massive role to play in the delivery of a low carbon economy. This conference will explore the implications for the tertiary education sector. Industrial strategy in the UK will fail to deliver the Paris objectives unless it incorporates the 3 cross-cutting themes of skills and knowledge, research, and finance. The conference focuses on these themes and the actions needed by policy makers and institutions.

A number of key questions must be answered if the sector is going to make a decisive contribution to the transition to a new economy.

• What do we mean by carbon literacy and are institutions doing enough for their staff, students and their local communities?
• How is the sector performing on climate research and how should it shape government and industrial policy??
• What role for institutions engaging with fossil fuel companies to shift their trajectory to a more sustainable footing?
•  What are the policy priorities to ensure that the sector is aligned with the vision of a zero carbon economy?

Who should attend – UCU and NUS members.  Other college and university staff interested in climate change policy are welcome to attend. Individuals and organisations with links to the education sector are also invited.

Venue: University of Manchester.  J17 Renold Building, which is a 5 minute stroll from the Manchester Piccadilly railway station (building number 8 on the campus mapOpens new window).

Date: Friday 13 May 2016

Time: 11.00am – 3.30pm

Cost: this is a free event. Lunch will be provided. UCU members will be able to claim travel expenses

Draft programme:

11am – Registration and refreshments

11.15 – Joint chair opening comments – Michael MacNeil, National Head of Bargaining and Negotiations, UCU and Piers Telemacque, vice president NUS

11.30 – Climate change and the Curriculum : chair – NUS

• HE sector – Professor Julia King, the Baroness Brown of Cambridge, Vice Chancellor, Aston University
• FE and Adult sector – Dr Ken Thompson, Principal of Forth Valley College

12.30 – Climate Change and Research : chair – UCU

• Dr Carly McLachlan, Tyndall Research Centre
• Professor Kate Rigby, Chair of Environmental Humanities, Research & Graduate Affairs, Bath Spa University

1.15pm – Lunch

1.45 – Climate change and Finance: chair – NUS

• Finance sector speaker (tbc)
• Evette Prout, Sheffield student union’s development officer
• Andy Kerr, member of the University of Edinburgh Fossil Fuel Working Group and Executive Director of the Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Innovation

2.45 – Final plenary ‘The Green Economy and the role of education’: chair – UCU

• Lisa Nandy, MP, Shadow Energy Minister

3.20 – UCU and NUS chairs’ closing comments

3.30 – Networking opportunities

There will be ample time provided for discussion following the presentations.

Further information and enquiries: contact Graham Petersen