Lord Deben to debate climate doomism at Utility Week Forum

Former Climate Change Committee chair Lord Deben is the latest speaker to be added to the agenda for Utility Week Forum.

The conference, which takes place in London on 4-5 October, will feature an Oxford debate between Lord Deben and Green Party co-founder Michael Benfield on whether the UK can achieve decarbonisation in time.

The debate between former environment secretary Lord Deben and Benfield will take place on 5 October and will see the two climate change experts discuss the realistic prospects of achieving net zero by 2050 and the impacts on the environment. The debate will tackle the balance between engaging the public on net zero and being transparent about the trade-offs and the pace of the transition.

Benfield, who helped to establish the Green Party in the 1970s, has previously warned the UK has “failed in dealing with the battle for environmental survival”. Lord Deben however has insisted he is optimistic that global powers are now taking the threat of climate change seriously, even if he has been critical of the pace of progress in the UK over recent years.

They join an already-packed agenda for the second iteration of Utility Week‘s flagship conference, which examines the biggest issues facing utilities under the headline theme ‘Strategy to delivery’.

Other speakers at the event include Basil Scarsella, CEO, UK Power Networks; Chris Norbury, CEO, Eon UK; Justin Placide, head of net zero governance, briefing and fiscal events, DESNEZ; Lisa Gahan, group regulatory strategy and asset management director, Pennon Group; Margaret Read, director of policy, National Infrastructure Commission and Mark Wild, CEO, SGN.

To find out more about Utility Week Forum and to book your place, click here.