CAT Conference 2019
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We had an exciting time at the CAT Conference this year, with lots of inspiring conversations, great speakers, a memorable ceilidh and highly engaged participants.
The theme this year was ‘Inspiring Action’, and the need for action has never been greater. Following the IPCC 1.5C special report last year, and the mass of inspiring actions that are occurring across the world, it’s clear that now more than ever we need to focus on effective solutions to climate change, and collectively act to rapidly reduce our carbon emissions now.
Fear is paralysing – hope is energising
This year’s CAT Conference was the largest we’ve ever had, and neither the storms nor floods that beset us were enough to keep people away, nor dampen their spirits.
And what an inspiring time to be involved in discussions around climate change solutions. The last year has seen a wave of climate emergency declarations, the eruption of two huge protest movements (School Strikes and Extinction Rebellion) and the adoption of 2050 net zero carbon emissions as a goal by the government. While the week leading up to the conference saw the Labour Party adopt a goal of net zero emissions by 2030.
Rising to the Climate Emergency
After a brief introductory talk and a chance to mix and mingle on Friday evening, Saturday started with a talk from Paul Allen, where he gave a sneak peak of our new Zero Carbon Britain report, due out later this year.
The report uses hourly modelling using 10 years’ worth of weather data to simulate renewable energy supply, along with changes to land use, diet, transport and housing to model a scenario that shows a UK that has risen to the challenge and reduced our greenhouse gas emissions to zero.
Paul Allen’s message was clear: we can’t wait for a technological magic bullet. We have the technology now to rapidly reduce our emissions, there are many other benefits from acting, including improved health and housing – and we must act now!
The new report will be released later this year. Make sure to sign up to our email (if you haven’t already) to ensure that you’re notified when the report is released and to stay up to date with all the latest from CAT.
Inspiring action and creating change
This year we had a great range of speakers share their time and expertise on a broad range of subjects, looking at how we can meet the challenges brought about by climate change and what sort of actions we can take.
Talks and workshops ranged from the technical, such as Trystan Lea showcasing the modelling behind our Zero Carbon Britain project, to the political, with Andy Rowland and Machynlleth town councillor Ann MacGarry exploring the role of councils. Looking at lessons from psychology, Rosemary Randall explored how we can find our voice and talk more effectively about climate change, whilst other sessions explored activism, migration, buildings and much, much more.
For more on this year’s workshops see the list below, and keep an eye on our website as we hope to get blogs and follow up pieces from many of the experts involved.
Dancing the night away
Saturday evening provided a great opportunity to socialise, make connections, take a well deserved break and dance our stresses away in a ceilidh, with live music and dancing instruction provided by local group Backroom Band, with special guest Paul Allen on bodhrán and whistle.
What’s next for CAT?
On Sunday Paul Allen and Peter Tyldesley (CAT’s new CEO) ran a session allowing us to get feedback on the Zero Carbon Britain Hub and Innovation Lab that we’ll be launching later this year, which we will use to help provide support to communities, councils and governments on creating Zero Carbon Action Plans and in developing innovative solutions.
The session was very interactive and we’re looking forward to thoroughly reviewing all the helpful feedback and feeding this into the next stage of development.
Click here to learn more about Zero Carbon Britain Hub and Innovation Lab
