Climate change tops agenda at Flood and Coast Conference 2019
The fourth Flood and Coast Conference opened in Telford today.
Sir James Bevan giving his opening speech to the Flood and Coast Conference in Telford.
Sir James Bevan, Chief Executive of the Environment Agency, opened the fourth Flood and Coast Conference in Telford today with a speech highlighting how we need to adapt to make our homes, businesses and communities more resilient to climate change.
Now in its fourth year, the annual event brings together experts from across the globe to share ideas and opportunities to work together to tackle the risk of flooding and coastal erosion.
This year’s Flood & Coast Conference starts today at the Telford International Centre and runs until Thursday 20 June. Registration and the full event programme can be found at on the Flood & Coast website
Other topics including infrastructure resilience, partnership working, community collaboration and incident response will also be debated at the 3 day event.
Speakers this year include the Chief Executive of the Environment Agency, Sir James Bevan, the Chief Scientist of the Met Office, Professor Stephen Belcher, and Natalia Moudrak, Director Climate Resilience at the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation.
Other speakers include Julie Foley, Director for the FCERM Strategy & National Adaptation at The Environment Agency who will be looking at the three key themes that will help us become more resilient to climate change.
John Curtin, Executive Director of Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management said
“Our thoughts are with the residents of Wainfleet today. We need to agree approaches at our Flood and Coast Conference that make our communities more resilient to extreme weather now and for generations to come.”
“There’s two and a half weeks left to share your views as part of the consultation on our long term strategy on the future of flood and coastal erosion risk management in England. We want to hear from everyone so that we can develop the best possible plan for the future.”
Experts from the UK and across the globe will discuss their experiences so we can learn from each other and improve how we manage flood risk and coastal erosion in the UK.
Hannah Bartram, Chief Operating Officer at the Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning & Transport (ADEPT) said
“ADEPT is looking forward to Flood & Coast 2019 – a great opportunity to talk about the Environment Agency’s draft FCERM strategy, particularly given increased awareness of climate change over recent months.
“We welcome the focus on developing climate resilient places and future proofing infrastructure. ADEPT local authority members are focused on building the expertise, partnerships and engagement needed to plan much further into the future”.
The Flood & Coast Conference is a great chance to network – bringing together a rich concentration of flooding and coastal erosion experts with a diverse mix of backgrounds - commercial companies, product manufacturers, public organisations, community representatives and academics.
Bringing these people together in a shared space provides a fantastic opportunity to explore how we can work together to reduce flood risk and manage coastal erosion more effectively in the UK.
More than 200 speakers will talk at the event, and 80 exhibitors will showcase the latest in flood risk management technology and innovation.
Terry Fuller, Chief Executive of CIWEM said:
“This year, perhaps more than ever before, we can positively influence the way that we manage flood and erosion risk.
“The Government’s 25 year Environment Plan sets an ambitious scene and we have the opportunity to create a strategy for flood and coastal erosion risk management in England that is world leading. Flood and Coast provides a unique and well timed forum for discussion and above all for us to think big and be bold.”
You can access the FCERM Strategy consultation here.