Last week, the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) co-hosted two key stakeholder events discussing hot ocean topics as part of Labour Party and Conservative Party Conference fringe events.
On 26 October, the NOC partnered with SERA, Labour’s Environment Group, to run ‘Rising seas: what we know and what we can do about it’, at Blundell Street, Liverpool. The event included a range of talks on the important topic of sea level rise from a variety of experts, including the NOC’s Chief Executive Professor Ed Hill CBE, Rosie Duffield MP, member of the Defra Committee, Mike Dobson, Associate, Energy and Resources and Alex Sobel MP, Shadow Minister for Natural Environment and Climate Change.
Professor Hill discussed the reasons for sea level rise and its acceleration, highlighting that even if net-zero is achieved, we can still expect increased sea-levels. Professor Hill emphasised the need to continue research to reduce uncertainties in future projections of sea level rise, monitor change and provide tools for decision makers.
Later that week, the NOC hosted fringe event ‘Ocean Question Time: From Green Shipping to Blue Carbon’, part of the Conservative Party Conference, chaired by Sally-Ann Hart MP, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Ocean. The event convened a wide-ranging debate, engaging key stakeholders in discussion on sea-level rise, nature-based solutions and technology innovation.
Expert speakers included Professor Ed Hill, Ben Murray, Maritime UK, Daniel McGrail, Renewable UK, Robert Courts MP and Theresa Villiers MP. During the debate, Professor Ed Hill highlighted the vast potential that marine nature-based solutions have for absorbing carbon dioxide, and the importance of underwater autonomous vehicles in helping to tackle some of the world’s big environmental challenges.
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