Oxford Climate Forum 2015

Welcome to the Oxford Climate Forum, the UK’s largest student-led climate change conference, bringing leading thinkers and doers under one roof to discuss the key environmental challenges facing the global community.

On the 13th and 14th November 2015 at the Saïd Business School, Oxford, OCF heard world-renowned speakers, engage with stimulating debates and hear about important ideas for our future.

Speakers included:

Bianca Jagger President and Chief Executive – Bianca Jagger Human Rights Foundation
Bianca Jagger is Founder, President and Chief Executive of the Bianca Jagger Human Rights Foundation, a Council of Europe Goodwill Ambassador, a Member of the Executive Director’s Leadership Council of Amnesty International, USA, a Member of the Coalition for the International Criminal Court, IUCN Bonn Challenge Ambassador and Senior Fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI). For over three decades she has been a voice for the most vulnerable members of society, campaigning for human rights, civil liberties, peace, social justice and environmental protection throughout the world. Bianca is the recipient of numerous prestigious international awards for her human rights and humanitarian work, including, in 2004, the Right Livelihood Award, also known as the “alternative Nobel prize”.

Sir Crispin Tickell former Permanent Representative of United Kingdom – The United Nations
Crispin Tickell has long been a pioneer in linking environmental issues, and in particular climate change, to the worlds of politics and business. For many years he was an informal adviser to successive British Prime Ministers. He spent much of his career in the Diplomatic Service and has held many distinguished posts, including President of the Royal Geographical Society (1990-1993) and Convenor of the Government Panel on Sustainable Development (1994-2000). He has contributed to many books on environmental issues, including population growth, resource depletion and biodiversity conservation. His 1977 book, “Climatic Change and World Affairs” was one of the first mainstream publications highlighting the dangers of human-induced global climate change. He has been the recipient of 23 honorary doctorates and a minor planet no. 5971 has been named after him.

Bill McKibben Founder – 350.org
Internationally renowned environmentalist Bill McKibben is founder of 350.org, the world’s first planet-wide grassroots climate change movement. 350 has organised 20,000 climate rallies around the world, is leading resistance to the Keystone XL pipeline, and spearheads the fast-growing fossil fuel divestment movement. In 1989, Bill published The End of Nature, regarded as the first book on climate change for a general audience. It has been translated into 24 languages. Bill has since published a dozen more books and in 2014 was awarded the Right Livelihood Prize, often labelled the ‘alternative Nobel.’ Foreign Policy recently named him to their inaugural list of the world’s 100 most important global thinkers, and the Boston Globe describes him as “probably America’s most important environmentalist.” Bill joined us via video-link to underline the importance of action and motivation on climate change.

Tony Juniper former Vice Chair – Friends of the Earth International
Tony Juniper is a well-known British campaigner, writer, sustainability adviser and environmentalist. For more than 25 years, he has advocated for a transformational transition towards sustainable society at local, national and international levels. At Friends of the Earth, Tony’s campaign work has ranged from providing ecology and conservation experiences for primary school children and making the case for new recycling laws, to orchestrating international campaigns for action on rainforest conservation and climate. He has previously advised the Prince of Wales Charities’ International Sustainability Unit, and is a fellow of the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership. Tony discussed our collective success in repairing nature, and what a sustainable society might hold. 

Kirsty Gogan Director – Energy for Humanity
Kirsty Gogan is an established expert in climate and energy communications with extensive experience advising the UK Government, industry, academic networks and non-profit organisations. She created the Low Carbon Alliance between the nuclear and renewables industries, welcomed by Greenpeace, and is co-founder of Energy for Humanity a new NGO working to meet the goal of universal access to clean and cheap energy. She also worked as Deputy Head of Civil Nuclear Security in Department for Energy and Climate Change. Kirsty discussed the role of energy technologies in a low-carbon future.

Watch Kirsty’s talk below: