Exhibition News March-April 2021 | Page 35

Feature to limit a global increase in temperature to 2 ° Celsius . Naranjo said : “ Potentially we are 10 years away or less from reaching 1.5 ° Celsius . Beyond 1.5 °, facing the consequences of climate change becomes difficult and expensive . So , it ’ s really important we do everything we can right now to avoid getting there . That means reducing emissions by half of what we have today by 2030 . “ If our society fails , of course business stops too .”

Westminster gets involved Theresa Villiers , chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Events underlined that , while the main priority of the group was to help the industry on to its feet again , it was ‘ striking ’ that public interest in ‘ environmental matters ’ had been ‘ undimmed ’ by the pandemic . “ The events sector can play its part in tackling the environmental challenges we
face as a society ,” Villiers told the roundtable . “ That is of course a twofold challenge : there ’ s not only increasing pressure on our climate but also on nature and wildlife habitats and the events sector of course has a central role because international action on climate change or environmental issues have been pushed forward by a series of major conferences .” Villiers suggested that the events industry should be leading on matters relating to environmental sustainability , as good practice is often carried over to the other sectors it serves . “ Without the ‘ big goal ’ gatherings there would be no chance of driving the change needed by governments and business and individuals around the world ,” she said . “ The Paris conference for example was a massive step forward and many hopes are pinned on both the G7 in Cornwall this Summer and COP26 in Glasgow . So , the climate debate provides an illustration of the central
Theresa Villiers MP , chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Events part that the events industry plays in spreading knowledge , ideas , skills and best practices across borders .” Villiers added that the the current priority is to find a means to get events happening again as the world emerges from Covid-19 . She said : “ There is still real merit in the sector considering the kinds of ideas that we ’ ve heard about already this afternoon with the goal of building back better . And further reducing the carbon impact of the sector .” Positive Impact Events says it will now work in partnership with the industry ’ s key associations to bridge the £ 30,000 funding gap and take on the responsibility of working with the UNFCCC to create a globally credible , sector specific framework for the events industry . The question remains , however , whether or not event organisers from across the sector get behind it .
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