Some amount of climate change is now inevitable. Governments at all levels and environmental industries recognise that increasing investment in resources will be required to adapt to climate change i.e. sustainable and economically efficient adaptation.

However, adaptation requires that we properly understand the scope of climate change impact — it goes beyond a rise in temperature or a change in precipitation — and that we understand the potentially non-linear sensitivity of both urban and natural environments to climate change.

Climate change also brings challenges and opportunities in the energy sector, all of which are inextricably tied to environmental impact and legislated mitigation efforts.

This conference will tackle these issues, highlighting both the scope of climate change impact, strategies for adaptation, as well as opportunities available to environmental industries and regional governments. The conference will also give participants a voice through extended Q&A sessions and panel-led discussions.

The list of confirmed speakers we have at the event now includes:

• Professor Anne Glover — Chief Scientific Adviser for Scotland
• Dr Chris West — Director, UK Climate Impacts Programme
• Professor Andrew Gouldson — Director, ESRC Centre for Climate Change Economics & Policy
• Mr Chris Murray — Director, UK Transmission, National Grid
• Dr Stephen Brown — Director, Carbon Capture and Storage C02 Sense Yorkshire
• Professor Mercedes Maroto-Valer — Director of the Centre for Innovation in Carbon Capture and Storage, Nottingham University
• Professor Dermot Roddy — Science City Professor of Energy, University of Newcastle
• Mr Rowan Douglas — Chairman, Willis Research Network, Willis Group Limited