The First 100 Days: Panel Discussion on the Progress of the Labour Government

NOTICE: this event has been moved from it's original date of October 30th due to the recent announcement that the autumn statement will take place on that date (likely at the same time). 

This event will take place 112 days after the King's Speech on the 17th July, in which the new Labour Government outlined their plan for government. As this panel meets, CBD COP 16 will be underway in Colombia, the US electorate will have decided their next President, and the venues for COP 29 will be preparing to welcome delegates on November 11th. 

Against this backdrop of change and uncertainty, our panellists will discuss the progress and direction of the UK's Labour government in tackling the climate and nature crises on the domestic and international stage. We will assess the opportunities the government has taken as well as those it may have missed in an effort to provide clarity, food for thought, and direction on what to look out for in the next era of environmental politics. 

Our Panellists are Kathryn Brown OBE, Dr Marie-Laurie Hicks, and Dr Teresa Domenech Aparisi.

Kathryn Brown OBE

Kathryn Brown is Director of Climate Change and Evidence at The Wildlife Trusts. Her role focusses on how the dual threats of climate change and biodiversity loss can be addressed together, alongside overseeing the Wildlife Trusts’ wider research and evidence functions. She supports the Trusts, among the largest landholders in the UK, to implement nature-based solutions at scale. Kathryn has worked for 20 years in a range of climate change and evidence roles including as Head of Adaptation at the Climate Change Committee and in international and domestic roles on climate change mitigation and adaptation at Defra. She was awarded an OBE for services to climate change research in 2022.

Dr Marie-Laurie Hicks

Marie-Laure is Head of Policy at Aldersgate Group and is responsible for developing and overseeing its policy work programme across energy and environment topics. This includes work on power systems, industrial decarbonisation, planning, skills, green finance and nature. Prior to joining Aldersgate Group, Marie-Laure has led a portfolio of complex and impactful policy projects at RAND Europe, the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology. Marie-Laure is an engineer by training, with a PhD in diamond transistors for the smart grid.

Teresa Domenech Aparisi

Teresa is an Assoc. Professor in Industrial Ecology and the Circular Economy at University College London, Institute for Sustainable Resources (UCL ISR) and founding director of the UCL Circular Economy Lab and the UCL Plastic Innovation Hub. She has contributed to leading international research in the areas of sustainable industrial development, decarbonisation pathways and the circular economy. Her expertise covers resource and energy management for decarbonisation and circularity in industrial sectors including construction (metals and cement), plastics, textiles, and the bioeconomy. Her work also explores the role of critical materials for green mobility (e.g. EV batteries) and the low carbon transition.

Her research has been published in leading academic journals, including Nature Sustainability and Journal of Cleaner Production. She has contributed to influential reports for the European Commission and UN on the Circular Economy. She delivers talks and lectures internationally in the areas of the circular economy and industrial decarbonisation and regularly engages with the media (BBC, Channel4, TVR, NTVS, Times and Metro). She has work extensively with industry to implement circular economy plans and developed customised tools for assessing circularity in organisations. She currently is part of the ISO Editorial Teams drafting the new family of standards for the Circular Economy.