University of Warwick COP26 research and academics list attending announced

Name and Role

Attendance Day/s

COP26 Agenda alignment

(linked to attendance)

Biography

Hope for COP26

Adrian Penfold OBE

Member of Governing Council at the University of Warwick

Week 1

· Land use

Adrian was Head of Planning at British Land from 1996 to 2019, and also led on Corporate Responsibility and Public Affairs for much of that time. Before that he worked in the public sector, at the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, the London Docklands Development Corporation and, as Head of Planning, at Dartford Borough Council.

He was a member of the Barker Review of Land Use Planning Panel of Experts and led the Government's Independent Penfold Review of Non-Planning Consents which reported in July 2010. He was a Commissioner on the Building Better Building Beautiful Commission and is now a member of the Transitional Board of the Office for Place.

He was non-executive Chair of Design South East from 2014 to 2020 and is a member of the Governing Council, and Chair of the Estates and Environment Committee at the University of Warwick.

I hope to learn more about the global challenges we face if we are to achieve our carbon targets, and mitigate and adapt to climate change. I particularly want to increase my understanding of how a university like Warwick, with its research expertise and strong links to industry, can develop the work it is already doing to promote real solutions to the climate issues we face.

Volkan Degirmenci

Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering

School of Engineering at the University of Warwick

Week 1

· Energy

Volkan is the co-director of the innovative interdisciplinary MSc Humanitarian Engineering at Warwick and an Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering at Warwick. His work is focused on sustainable production of high-volume chemicals from renewables. Over the past 10 years, he researched on the transformation of plant biomass into platform chemicals for establishing the safe, sustainable, and circular chemical industry of the future.

He developed novel catalytic systems to achieve the selective conversion of biomass to biochemicals and biofuels which form the basis for a biorefinery. Volkan is passionate about embedding sustainability in teaching.

Fixing few commodities in our lives would not be sufficient to fix our climate problem. To reach our net zero emissions goal, not only our cars but everything should move to net zero approach. In COP26, I want to discuss and emphasize the importance of a holistic approach and adopting circular economy principles in all aspects of our lives.

David Chapman

Sustainability Champion - Estates

Environmental Sustainability Team/Estates at the University of Warwick

Weeks 1 and 2

· Youth and Public Empowerment

· Energy

· Transport

· Cities, Region and Built Environment

· Nature

· Circular Economy

David Chapman has worked in the sustainability sector for a decade. He graduated Swansea University with a BSc Geography and worked in the charity sector supporting people in fuel poverty until entering his current role as Sustainability Champion (Waste and Recycling) at the University of Warwick. Within this role he takes a holistic view of sustainability.

David is a Domestic Energy Assessor, Climate Reality Leader, Climate KIC Alumni, the co-founder of Green Week across Coventry and Warwickshire, and champion of numerous initiatives both on and off campus.

My hope is that I will be witness to Governments from across the world taking a stronger stand on climate change. Currently global policies put us at nearly double the recommended temperature that climate scientists have suggested, putting humanity in grave danger of extinction.

I look forward to engaging with those going to COP 26; forging and supporting networks for the University of Warwick to increase our positive impacts.

Jessica Savage

Senior Teaching Fellow and Deputy Head of the School for Cross-faculty Studies (Global Sustainable Development)

School for Cross-faculty Studies (Global Sustainable Development) at the University of Warwick

Week 1

· Water and Oceans and Coastal Zones

· Nature

Jess Savage is a senior teaching fellow and deputy head of school in Global Sustainable Development at the University of Warwick. Her research and teaching interests centre on understanding biodiversity loss, exploring the consequences and impacts of climate and environmental change while critically integrating the 'human element'.

Dr. Savage has a PhD in Marine Biology and Coastal Ecology from the University of Plymouth, and an MSc in Biodiversity Conservation from the University of Southampton. Her doctoral work explored the design of Marine Protected Areas in coastal Cambodia. Prior to joining Warwick in 2017, she taught Tropical Coastal Ecology at The School for Field Studies in Bocas Del Toro, Panama.

Being an observer at COP26 offers a unique opportunity to experience how the global community, respond to challenges such as Climate Change. I hope to witness a change in the tide of our current approaches to managing climate change.

Moreover, I look forward to both the opportunity to share the work of Warwick's staff and students with a global audience, and to bringing back lessons from COP 26 to enrich our students learning.

Graeme Macdonald

Professor of English and Comparative Literature Studies

Department of English and Comparative Literary Studies at the University of Warwick

Week 1

· Energy

· Youth and Public Empowerment

Graeme has been member of the Warwick English department since 2003. His research and teaching is focussed on the intersections between cultural work, energy and climate change. He has a particular interest in the ways in which speculative imaginaries of energy and climate futures offer means to better realise the issues and forms around a just transition.

He is a member of the international Petrocultures Research Group and the After Oil school. He was CI on the Royal Society of Edinburgh Humanities research project Connecting with a low carbon Scotland, which reported in 2018. Since 2018, he has been CI on the FORMAS funded international research project Climaginaries: narrating socio-cultural transitions to a post-fossil society. He is curating and exhibiting the Climaginaries Carbon Ruins museum project at the Green Zone and in the Rachel Carson Centre gallery space at COP26.

Is it too much to ask for "Glasgow" to have the resonance "Paris" has, which is to say: for genuine movement and firm markers towards real progress? I hope to learn more about the multiple issues around Energy and witness what the various cultural energies on and offsite have to offer towards mitigation and a just transition.

Pietari Kaapa

Reader (Associate Professor) in Media and Communications

Centre for Cultural and Media Policy Studies, at the University of Warwick

Week 1

· Youth and Public Empowerment

Pietari Kaapa is Reader in Media and Communications at the University of Warwick. He works in the field of environmental media studies with a specific focus on media management and industry studies.