How do we fix climate change?

How do we fix climate change?

Getting governments, businesses and citizens to act on climate change is tough. With 193 countries involved, changing direction takes serious effort. So what works best - political lobbying and diplomacy, taking polluters to court, or public protest?

Join us on 24 November to hear from people who've tried all three approaches. Nick Bridge was the UK's Special Representative for Climate Change. Laura Clarke runs ClientEarth, which uses legal action to force environmental progress. Areeba Hamid co-leads Greenpeace. Alexander Evans from the LSE joins them, with Professor Elizabeth Robinson chairing the discussion. They will debate which tactics actually deliver results when time is running out.

Meet our speakers and chair

Nick Brige advises on the political economy and systemic causes and risks of the global climate & environmental crises. He is a speaker, commentator, Associate Fellow at Chatham House & Chair of the UK Parliamentary Knowledge Scheme’s Climate, Energy & Environment programme. Nick was a diplomat and civil servant with roles including: UK Special Representative for Climate Change (2017-2023); British Ambassador & Permanent Representative to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) & International Energy Agency (IEA); Foreign Office Chief Economist; diplomatic postings in China, Japan and the United States; and HM Treasury co-team leader launching a $4 billion financing facility immunisation that is estimated to have saved over 5 million lives.

Laura Clarke is the CEO of ClientEarth, a legal environmental charity. She joined ClientEarth in September 2022 after two decades in public policy, including diplomatic roles across Africa, Asia and Europe. Her most recent role was British High Commissioner to New Zealand, and Governor of the Pitcairn Islands, from January 2018 – July 2022. Laura holds an MA in German and Russian from Cambridge University and a MSc in International Relations from the London School of Economics.

Areeba Hamid is Co-Executive Director of Greenpeace UK. Areeba worked at senior levels in Greenpeace offices around the world from 2006-2020, campaigning on issues like marine conservation, coal expansion in India, rainforest destruction in Indonesia, and tar sands in Canada and North America. Areeba re-joined Greenpeace from The Sunrise Project, where she led their global finance program. She is also a board member of the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants.

Alexander Evans OBE is Associate Dean (Strategic Development) and Programme Director of the MPA in Data Science for Public Policy at the LSE School of Public Policy. He is a former adviser to the Prime Minister in 10 Downing Street and Director Cyber at the Foreign Office where he was the U.K.’s chief international cyber policy negotiator. He has also served as a senior adviser in the U.S. Department of State during the first Obama Administration, and led the U.N. Security Council expert group on Daesh, Al Qaida and the Taliban.