Experts unite for climate action at Bennett Institute for Innovation & Policy Acceleration Launch

Held on February 27th at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in London, the launch symposium dealt with the complex topic of climate change, and how innovating and speeding up policy change could tackle the crisis.

Provost of King’s College, Cambridge and editorial board member for the Financial Times, Dr Gillian Tett, gave the symposium keynote. From the fraught backdrop of our current geopolitics, she navigated the audience through seven reasons to be cheerful. Speaking on fighting for the next era of climate action, Gillian offered advice on how to use language more effectively to widen political support. She asked the room to harness people’s passion for nature to inspire action, and called for the climate and biodiversity COPs to be held together. Gillian also highlighted that some hope lies in businesses. Now impacted by protest, war, technology – businesses more than ever need to look up, beyond their balance sheets, and act.

Professor Sasha Roseneil, Vice Chancellor of the University of Sussex, opened the event and Sir Jim Skea, Chair of the IPCC, presented his perspectives on the climate crisis. Institute Director Professor Benjamin Sovacool shared his vision for the future and revealed key points from the new strategy for the Institute, which was launched on the day.

Panellists explored new frontiers in research and innovation, asked how we can control AI for good, and debated the important topics of green finance and poverty. The need for research from academic institutions to provide good quality data – especially data that helps connect profitability with sustainability – was a clear call in the final panel.

Rounding up the day, Peter Bennett – the generous philanthropist supporting this work – highlighted the significance of the discussions and the Institute’s commitment to driving impactful change: “Many of us here were brought up to leave things better off than when we arrived. This is what I see in all the Bennett Institutes: they’re all trying to leave the world in a better place than it’s in today.”