Dear Members and Friends,
For those members currently in the UK, it’s pretty hard to escape three news items this week: the elections, the weather and the Euros. In some parts of the world, it’s (still) usually fair to assume that if it’s dry in the morning, it will stay that way for the rest of the day. In the UK, not so much. In my experience, predicting long-term trends on the basis of one set of results, whether in football or politics, is as reliable as weather forecasting in Britain. And that’s all I have to say this week about either the election or the Euros….
Our focus right now is on London Climate Action Week not only on the long-term climate challenges, but also on what our members are doing around the world to make a difference now. Our offices in Grafton Street are now fully decorated with our photographic exhibition “Equilibrium” which features images by the internationally acclaimed photographer Pierre Rivet alongside photography from around the globe showcasing the collective efforts of British Expertise International members in climate change mitigation and adaptation. Thanks again to our sponsors, Mott MacDonald, Practical Action, Fathom and Chemonics, for their support of the exhibition.
There’s still time to attend this evening’s private view (Friday 21 June) if you can, or to visit later - the exhibition has been extended until 11 July, so there’s plenty of opportunity to drop in while you’re at Grafton Street for one of our events. Please do come, and of course participate in our series of events focusing on innovative approaches to climate challenges. A full list is at the end of this newsletter.
This week’s programme featured three events. On Tuesday, we started our climate series with a panel on “Retrofitting Climate Change in Economic Development Programmes” co-designed with Mott MacDonald. We were joined by John Carstensen, Climate Resilience Lead (ISMA) at Mott MacDonald; Doogie Black, CEO at Climate Sense; and Mark Harvey. Head of Profession (Infrastructure and Urban) at FCDO, for an insightful conversation about retrofitting our existing systems to accelerate climate adaptation and resilience. This approach addresses the opportunity to focus more on addressing the impacts of climate change on current ways of working, including in agriculture, transport, cities and economic development policies, and to retrofit mitigation into existing systems. A focus only on new projects, however useful they are, ignores the existing stock and is therefore insufficient to address the challenges of climate change.
Also on Tuesday, we welcomed Dominic Ashton, FCDO Development Director in Mozambique, who set out the UK’s development priorities for the country with the aim of “a more secure, resilient, sustainable, and prosperous future for all” broken down into five programme areas: peace and stability, improving service delivery, sustainable and inclusive prosperity, strengthening climate resilience, and strengthening inclusive governance and democracy.
On Thursday, we were delighted to be able to host the first London Water Drinks event, supported by WRc (to whom many thanks!), which provided an unusual networking opportunity for those working in the sector to meet. It’s one I hope we will be able to repeat.
As promised, back to the Climate Showcase. Next week’s events are:
On Tuesday 25 June, we start with a morning session on “Sustainable adaptation: Learning from communities on the frontlines of climate change” with speakers from Practical Action, DAI Global and FCDO. Some of the themes we will be discussing include programme co-design and learning from beneficiaries for sustainable outcomes; learnings from indigenous traditional knowledge in building resilience for vulnerable populations in the face of climate change; shared benefits from co-design and localisation.
Later on Tuesday we will explore “New Solutions for Closing the Climate Finance Gap”. We will be joined by MOBILIST and USAID’s Climate Finance for Development Accelerator (CFDA) to discuss public markets, the importance of partnerships and other innovative solutions to mobilising private investment to address climate change.
On Wednesday 26 June, our headline event is an early evening discussion on “The UK’s international leadership role in Climate Finance as a vehicle to deliver tangible impact”, followed by a networking reception. In the discussion, we will hear from FCDO and BII to hear about how the UK is putting finance for climate change mitigation and adaptation at the heart of interventions and policy decisions.
Finally, as you know BEI, is very active on LinkedIn. I am delighted that, thanks to the efforts of our sector leads in creating content and to the Events and Communications team for leading our social media presence, we are reaching increasingly wide internationally-relevant audiences on behalf our members. At present we are posting a range of case studies from the recent Education and Water Resilience reports. Please do share these outstanding examples of “British expertise”.
I wish you a good weekend, whether you are enjoying the weather, the football or the elections…. – and look forward to seeing many members next week.
David Landsman
Executive Chairman
British Expertise International
Recordings of recent past events:
- 14th May: FCDO Development Director: Indonesia & Minister Counsellor in UK Mission to ASEAN
- 28th May: Mauritania - Market Overview and Opportunities
- 30th May: Intersections - Climate and Migration
- 6th June: Retrofitting Infrastructure for Net Zero
- 13th June: Innovative Financial Instruments for Climate Mitigation & Adaptation
Key events coming up include the following:
- 21st June 2024 18:00 - 20:00 BST: Exhibition Private View: Equilibrium - Join BEI and D Contemporary at the Private View of Equilibrium, a captivating photography exhibition featuring images by the internationally acclaimed photographer Pierre Rivet alongside photography from around the globe showcasing the collective efforts of British Expertise International members in climate change mitigation and adaptation. The images weave stories of hope in creating balance between people and nature.
- 25th June 2024 11:00-12:30 BST: Sustainable adaptation: Learning from communities on the frontlines of climate change - Join us in person as Gemma Tanner, Senior Adaptation Adviser at the FCDO, Nandi Hall, Senior Director, Economic Growth at DAI Global, and Colin McQuistan, Head of Climate & Resilience at Practical Action discuss Sustainable adaptation: Learning from communities on the frontlines of climate change.
- 25th June 2024 14:00 - 15:30 BST: New Solutions for Closing the Climate Finance Gap - Join MOBILIST and USAID’s Climate Finance for Development Accelerator (CFDA) to discuss public markets, the importance of partnerships, and other innovative solutions to mobilising private investment toward addressing climate change at this in-person roundtable, as part of BEI’s Climate Showcase programme.
- 26th June 2024 16:00 - 17:00 BST: What is Infrastructure for Opportunity and Does it Mean Game Over for Levelling Up? - Labour clearly sees the link between infrastructure investment and wider economic growth. They have expressed their intention to drive quicker and cheaper delivery of major projects, unlocking private sector investment. The announcement of the British Infrastructure Council signals Labour’s intention to turn this into reality.
- 26th June 2024 17:00 - 19:30 BST: UK’s international leadership role in Climate Finance as a vehicle to deliver tangible impact - Join us for the main event in BEI’s Climate Showcase as our panel (DESNZ, FCDO and BII) discuss how the UK government is putting finance for climate change mitigation and adaptation at the heart of interventions and policy decisions. The panel will be followed by a Private View of our special photography Exhibition, showcasing BEI members’ work in climate change mitigation and adaptation in LMICs.
- 3rd July 2024 16:00 - 17:00 BST: Britain’s Place in The World: Using UK Soft Power More Effectively - If Labour wins the election, they will be keen to ensure that the UK’s reputation on a global stage becomes part of its toolkit to drive economic and social prosperity. From their commitment to the culture and the arts, to their belief in the strength of the UK’s reputation across sport and education, soft power has a key role to play.
- 9th July 2024 16:00-18:30 BST: Challenges in Accessing Climate Risk Data in Emerging and Developing Countries - Climate risks pose significant and multifaceted challenges for emerging and developing markets, ranging from data availability and inconsistency to the delicate balance between risk and humanitarian, economic, and environmental benefits. Our panel will explore how innovative partnerships can support stakeholders in emerging and developing countries in accessing climate risk data.
- 17th July 2024 16:00 - 17:00 BST: Net Zero – the new economy or bad for business? - Net Zero is now part of the mainstream debate in national politics. As a result, it is also becoming a more contested agenda. What does this mean for the changing role of business in helping the UK achieve its Net Zero targets, and what does Labour’s ambition for us to be a ‘Net Zero Superpower’ mean in practice? In this session Nick will explore Labour’s approach to Net Zero, including the interplay between Net Zero and Labour’s fiscal policies.
Register for an upcoming event →
External Events
- June 17th – 27th 2024: Made in the UK Sold to the Indo-Pacific: Meet The Experts - Want to hear from sector specialists, market experts and other companies about opportunities in the Indo-Pacific? This two week series of in-person events is run by the UK Government and their partners.
- June 19th – 20th 2024: MINEX Central Asia: MINEX Central Asia Mining and Exploration Forum is taking place in Bishkek under the general theme "The Prospects and Scenarios for Sustainable Development of the Mining Industry in Central Asia". MINEX Central Asia Forum provides a cross-regional platform for presenting and discussing investment and technological opportunities for the development of mineral resources, green energy transfer and the modernisation of industrial infrastructure across the Central Asian countries.
- June 24th 2024: UK-SAUDI SUSTAINABLE INFRASTRUCTURE SUMMIT - The City of London Corporation and The Saudi British Joint Business Council UK (SBJBC UK) are delighted to announce the UK-Saudi Sustainable Infrastructure Summit, set to take place on 24 June 2024 at Plaisterers’ Hall in London. A full-day, in-person event featuring keynotes, panels, workshops and networking opportunities, focusing on sustainable infrastructure opportunities in Saudi Arabia and the UK, and how firms can play a pivotal role.
- June 28th 2024: UK-Cambodia Trade and Investment Conference - His Majesty’s Ambassador Dominic Williams, the British Ambassador to Cambodia is pleased to invite you to an exclusive UK-Cambodia Trade and Investment event co-organized and sponsored by KPMG. This event marks the first official Cambodia trade and investment mission to the UK, led by H.E. Dr Sok Siphana Senior Minister in charge of Special Missions and Chairman of Trade Policy Board, Royal Government of Cambodia. Please register your attendance with Chanmonyneat Teik at commercial.phnompenh@fcdo.gov.uk
Not a member?
Learn more
For more information about British Expertise International: Sign up to receive this Weekly Update
- View our upcoming events
- Becoming a member
- Follow us on Twitter
- Join our Linkedin group
