Bucks taking part in UN's climate conference

As part of the UN’s climate conference in Glasgow, local events are taking place, too, including one at Silverstone.

Buckinghamshire is going to play its part in the UN’s Climate Change Conference this autumn.

Decarbonising transport is going to be the focus of the event at Silverstone, highlighting work being done right here to make travel greener.

It’s hoped it’ll show to the world what innovative work is happening in our county to tackle climate change.

The annual conference is a significant global event with nations from around the world gathering to tackle issues related to climate change. Every five years the conference is a more significant decision-making forum, and this year's event in Glasgow (co-hosted with Italy, delayed from 2020) is one such event.

As part of this year's conference, which takes place from 31 October to 12 November and is titled Together For Our Planet, regional Green Zone events will take place, focusing on a range of themes.

The aims are to showcase local activity, projects and case studies that have been gathered across the region to the public, business representatives and potential investors.

Earlier this year Buckinghamshire Council submitted an Expression of Interest in hosting one of these regional events as part of the Greater South East Energy Hub.

The bid was made in partnership with other local organisations including: Buckinghamshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP); Buckinghamshire Community Energy; The Lunaz Group; England's Economic Heartland; Buckinghamshire Business First and Robert Bosch Ltd. Notification has just been received of the successful bid.

Buckinghamshire's Transport Decarbonisation Event – Green Wheels in Motion – will focus on showcasing sustainable transport solutions and will take place on Wednesday 10 November at the Lunaz headquarters in the Silverstone Enterprise Zone.  

The event will showcase a range of innovative technologies and initiatives being developed and/or deployed in Buckinghamshire to decarbonise transport.

The key highlight of the event is to showcase the innovative and world-leading vehicle upcycling work by the Lunaz Group that supports the transition to electric powertrains for classic and commercial vehicles.

The event will also look to explore the opportunities for hybrid power solutions including the sustainable use of hydrogen in transport. The event will follow a conference format with a series of key-note speakers and Q&A sessions with a panel, a tour of the Lunaz Group site, and interactive displays of sustainable transport technology. The event will be live-streamed direct to delegates in Glasgow.

Peter Strachan, Buckinghamshire's Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Environment said:

"This news is an exciting achievement for Buckinghamshire. Climate change is a topic that we all need to take notice of and work together to tackle.

"In Buckinghamshire there is some fantastic work going on in green travel and reducing carbon emissions and together with our partners, we are keen to share our learnings and experiences with a wider audience. The focus of the world will be on Glasgow in November and we are delighted to be actively involved in such an important event."

Richard Harrington, Chief Executive of Buckinghamshire LEP added:

"We are delighted to have supported many innovative Buckinghamshire based companies working on delivering Net Zero solutions.

"The Lunaz Group, based in our Silverstone Enterprise Zone, are one of our most exciting, fast growing companies and this event provides a great opportunity to see what they are already achieving and to learn about how other innovative businesses can also be supported in their Net Zero ambitions."