Wednesday 03-11-2021 - 16:36

Bangor students invited to join to the conversation on Wales’ response to the climate emergency during ‘COP Cymru’

Students from Bangor University are being encouraged to take part in a series of virtual events throughout November that will provide an opportunity for everyone in Wales to engage in important conversations about climate change.

With COP26 already underway in Glasgow, COP Cymru will offer people across Wales the chance to join the conversation, in a programme that includes virtual presentations and discussions involving government ministers, academics, private and public sector organisations and community groups.

From 4 to 10 November, four COP26 Regional Roadshow events will be broadcast virtually, enabling the public to join discussions on topics that mirror some of the key COP26 themes.

Dr Aisha Bello-Dambatta, from the School of Natural Sciences at Bangor University, will feature in the energy transition roadshow on Thursday 4th November, while conservation scientist (and director of the Sêr Cymru Low Carbon Energy and Environment Research Network), Professor Julia Jones, appears at the nature-based solutions roadshow on Saturday 6th November.

The full list of roadshow events includes;

o Energy Transition (4 November) – hosted in North Wales

o Nature Based Solutions (6 November) – hosted in Mid Wales

o Adaptation & Resilience (8 November) – hosted in South West Wales

o Clean Transport (10 November) – hosted in South East Wales

The four roadshows will be broadcast live, and a recording will be made available via the on-demand section of the COP Cymru event platfrom shortly after each event.

The COP Cymru programme concludes with Wales Climate Week: a Wales-wide conversation on how to tackle the climate emergency, taking place online, from 22 to 26 November.

The five-day programme of virtual events - each day focusing on a different theme – will explore Wales’ contribution to the global challenge of combatting climate change and attempt to answer key questions, such as how nature can be used to manage climate risks and how everyone can make a contribution to achieving a net zero Wales.

The five days of Wales Climate Week, which will also be available as on-demand content after the event, are;

o Wales and the world (22 November)

o Energy and emissions (23 November)

o Responding to the climate emergency (24 November)

o Nature and climate resilience (25 November)

o People and climate action (26 November)

Commenting on the upcoming events, Julie James MS, the Welsh Minister for Climate Change, said: “The climate is changing and so must Wales.

“COP Cymru is an opportunity for all of us to help shape Wales’ future. The progress made so far has been commendable, with emissions in Wales falling by just over 30 per cent over the last 30 years. Many of the projects being discussed during COP Cymru have been instrumental in helping drive this change.

“But if we are serious about becoming a net zero nation by 2050, we need to do much more. We estimate that in order to reach the 2050 goal, we will need to cut emissions by more than 30 per cent yet again – but this time in only 10 years.

“Simply put, the next decade must be a decade of climate action.”

To find out more or sign up to the COP Cymru virtual regional roadshows or any of the Wales Climate Week events, visit the COP event platfrom.