COP26: Duns reflects 12 Nov 10 am

As excitement and interest mount in the Climate Conference to be held in Glasgow 31st October – 12 November 2021, we want to raise the agenda locally and consider what we can do together or as individuals to play our part.

We have 5 expert speakers on our panel, who will be reflecting on what the media tell us about the conference. Following their short presentations, we will all have a chance to raise our own questions and open out the discussion.

u3a members have priority booking to attend the event in person until 1st November. Please book your free place using Eventbrite. Numbers in the hall are limited to 150.

Others will be able to follow the debate via Zoom. (Click here to join the meeting, or enter the meeting code: 876 2457 4773, passcode 290368)

Friday 12th November, 10 am to 12:15 pm Volunteer Hall, Duns

Our speaker panel includes:

Elizabeth Devon – Geologist and Teacher

Paul Minto – Head of Low Carbon Transport, GreenPower Developments Ltd

Morag Garden – Associate Director of Carbon Intelligence – Retail and Manufacturing

Martin Devon – Consulting Engineer and Scientist

Karen Birch – Co-founder of Abundant Borders

This is an issue that affects us all – and our children and grandchildren – so please come and join the debate.

About our panel

Karen Birch, Chief Officer (Projects) Karen, co-founder of Abundant Borders, is an entrepreneur with a wealth of experience in creating and supporting enterprise. In 1995, at the start of the Internet revolution, Karen founded and created an ecommerce company which would become Scotland’s leading Internet retailer.
Our Team – Abundant Borders

Paul Minto, Head of Low Carbon Transport at Greenpower Developments Ltd. Paul has recently joined GPI to lead the development of the low carbon transport sector. GPI is a renewable energy generator and project developer committed to providing electricity, hydrogen and other energy sources for transport. Paul was a Partner in the Infrastructure Projects & Energy team at international law firm, Addleshaw Goddard, until late 2019 and is now focused on promoting commercially viable transport projects that improve air quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. https://www.greenenergyuk.com/

Elizabeth Devon, geologist and teacher. Elizabeth is well known to us in the Duns and District u3a as group leader for our Geology Group. Our event has arisen from Elizabeth’s own expert interest in Climate Through Time and her presentations to her u3a group.

Martin Devon, Consulting Engineer and Scientist. Both Martin, Elizabeth and two colleagues have recently researched both mitigation and adaptation measures to reach the government’s ‘net zero’ emission targets by 2045, in collaboration with the British Geological Survey and the Earth Science Education Forum. The
papers can be seen on the Earthlearningidea website.(https://www.earthlearningidea.com)

Morag Garden, Associated Director Carbon Intelligence – Retail and Manufacturing. Morag has recently joined Carbon Intelligence, as part of their world-class team of 110 strategists, technologist, data scientists and engineers with the common vision that business is the solution to delivering a zero-carbon economy. Morag is a former BHS pupil and worked with Scottish Water on a range of roles from Laboratory to Environmental Policy. For the last 5 years she has been the Scotch Whisky Association’s Head of Sustainability and Innovation and recently delivered the sector’s latest sustainability strategy in the lead up to COP26. https://carbon.ci/.