What if? How Asian coastal cities might embrace climate reality
Join us for an afternoon guest seminar with Ed Gillespie, a prominent author and speaker on urgent global challenges. Following on from Prime Minister Lee Hsien Leong’s National Day Speech, the impacts of climate change are now firmly in the minds of Singaporeans. In his guest talk, Ed will build on the 3 areas of the Prime Minister’s speech; understanding, mitigation & adaptation, to ask ‘what if?’ Ed will draw on inspiring examples of cutting edge climate action and thought leadership from around the world, to explore how Asian coastal cities, including Singapore, can address their climate future.
Ed Gillespie is a keynote speaker, writer, communications specialist, serial entrepreneur and futurist. He is the author of ‘Only Planet – a flight-free adventure around the world’ a book about his circumnavigation of the globe without getting on a plane. Ed’s core talent is to take the complex, interconnected, interdependent nature of the many urgent challenges the world faces, from climate change to disruptive competition, and make common sense of them for non-specialist audiences.
Ed is the co-founder of the Global Goals Accelerator, a business programme aimed at delivering the Sustainable Development Goals. He is actively involved in a number of other pioneering ethical businesses as a Director or Investor, from Growing Underground, a renewable energy powered, LED-lit, hydroponic farm in a disused underground tunnel in South London, to Demand Logic – a ‘fitbit’ for buildings.
Ed is also a facilitator with the Forward Institute for responsible leadership, a Director of Greenpeace UK, a Trustee of Energy Revolution and alongside fellow futurist Mark Stevenson is one half of the ‘Futurenauts’ doing live shows and podcasts on pragmatic optimism. His recent speaking engagements include giving the inaugural ‘Bonn Speech’ on Global Transformation for the German Government, a keynote on ‘The Future of Energy’ in Slovenia, ‘The Power of Business with Purpose’ in Finland, ‘Climate of Disruption’ on climate change and disruptive innovation for Schroders in Belgium, ‘Time to get on the bus’ on radically rethinking public mass transit in Germany and ‘It’s the climate, stupid’ on the strategic investment implications of climate risk in the UK.
Agenda
4:30pm -5:00pm
Registration
5:30pm – 5:40pm
Welcome by Dr Serena Teo, Facility Director, SJINML
Opening remarks by HE Kara Owen, British High Commissioner to Singapore
5:40pm – 6:20pm
Presentation by Ed Gillespie: “Big thinking” on climate change – drawing inspiration on cutting edge climate action around the world
6:20pm - 6:30pm
Q&A Facilitated by Nicola Hewett, Climate Change and Energy Attaché, BHC, Singapore
6:30pm
End of event (refreshments provided)