Can clean growth provide prosperity whilst being sustainable?

Join us at the Cambridge Union to hear a debate on whether clean growth can provide prosperity while being sustainable

The UK government’s Clean Growth Strategy, an ambitious blueprint for Britain’s low carbon future which was announced in 2017, proposes that the whole country can benefit from low carbon opportunities while meeting national and international commitments to tackle climate change.

But is it really possible to grow our national income while cutting greenhouse gas emissions? As it becomes more and more obvious that the current growth model is unsustainable, what sort of financial system should our net-zero future follow?

Join Cambridge Cleantech and Michael Page at the Cambridge Union to debate on whether clean growth can provide prosperity while being sustainable.

Join us after the event for light refreshments and a small tour of the Union.

Agenda for the evening

4:00 pm: Reception and registration

4:30 pm: Welcome by Martin Garratt, CEO of Cambridge Cleantech, Debate begins (Chamber)

5:45 pm: End of debate. Speakers and attendees are then welcome to come to the Orator bar and to the Kennedy Room for refreshments.

Speakers include:

Pippa Gawley, Investor

Pippa is a climate tech investor for early-stage businesses creating scientific innovations to accelerate the zero carbon transition. She is the Founder and Director of Zero Carbon Capital.

Mark Riminton, Business Development Manager

Mark is the Business Development Manager at Clean Growth UK, a national innovation network of over 2000 businesses & universities.

Dr. Douglas Crawford-Brown, Professor

Douglas is a Professor Emeritus of Environmental Science and Policy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He retired in 2017 from his role as Director of Cambridge Centre for Climate Change Mitigation Research (4CMR).

James Murray-White, Green Party

James is part of the Green Party and is an upcoming candidate for the Castle Ward. He also is a writer and filmmaker with a focus on neuroscience & cognition, shamanism, the natural world, and rewilding.

Meg Watts, Writer and Activist

Meg is a writer and activist working towards global climate justice and equity through accessible and intersectional climate communication. She works with various organisations, including Rewriting Extinction, the Any Last Words? Climate Writing and Art Competition, BBC Radio Norfolk and Norfolk Wildlife Trust.

Clara Todd, Co-Founder

Clara Todd is a founder member of Cambridge Doughnut, a local group bringing principles of Doughut Economics to Cambridge: 'meeting the needs of all within the means of the living planet' (Kate Raworth). She is interested in alternative economic models, complementary currencies for trade and systems thinking.