Celebrating 30 years of CSE
Celebrating 30 years of CSE
'Shaping a (local) sustainable energy future' conference makes its mark
27 July 2009
“What an amazing team. If anyone can make a difference...you can!” That was just one of the many positive comments which was received following this week’s CSE conference, ‘Shaping a (local) sustainable energy future: the next steps’.
More than 200 people from across the country gathered at the Watershed in Bristol on Tuesday 30 June to take part in the conference – and to help CSE celebrate its 30th birthday.
They included energy professionals, environmentalists, local, regional and national government officials, policy makers, people running sustainable energy schemes, representatives of large environmental organisations, community representatives and many more.
Speakers including Dr Brenda Boardman (University of Oxford), Fraser Winterbottom (Energy Saving Trust), and Peter Lipman (Sustrans and Chair of Transition Network) helped delegates explore local sustainable energy initiatives and how they can be dramatically expanded to meet the twin challenges of slashing carbon emissions and ending fuel poverty.
The speakers also posed a series of challenging questions throughout the day which delegates answered in a reversal of the usual Q&A panel session. This format was designed to make the most of the extensive knowledge and experience of the delegates.
Simon Roberts, CSE’s Chief Executive, said: “This was a really stimulating day and a fitting way to mark our 30th birthday. When we started out in 1979 we were virtually alone in the UK as a Iocal energy agency. We take great inspiration from knowing that we are now part of a fantastic mobilisation of human endeavour focused on tackling climate change and securing a genuine sustainable energy future. ”
Delegates were very positive about the day with around 96 per cent finding the content relevant to their work. As one delegate put it: “I’m proud to be part of the solution – this day helped.”
'Capturings' from the Thinking Out Loud exercise can be downloaded here. Conference presentations will be available on CSE’s website shortly.