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Reading Fringe festival – Climate Symposium

photo of melting sea ice
photo of melting ice
Reading Fringe festival 2018 Climate Symposium

CLIMATE SYMPOSIUM: “A WORLD WITHOUT…..”

This Friday, 27th July – 1pm – I’m very excited to be joining Fiona Talkington (BBC Radio 3 presenter and festival curator), and 3 other panelists to talk about “ice, climate change, silence, darkness and beyond”. It’s going to be a really interesting cross-over between what I’ve been doing as part of the Reading Climate Change Partnership, and my other world as a musician.

You can book free tickets through: https://merl.reading.ac.uk/event/climate-symposium-world-without/

Panellists

Terje Isungset

Internationally renowned ice musician and Director of Ice Music Festival Norway.

Emile Holba

Emile is a photographer, writer and broadcaster. Passionate about music, his acclaimed Welcome to the Quiet Zone was recently repeated on BBC Radio 4.

Chris Beales

Local musician and passionate environmentalist, Chris is Chair of the Reading Climate Change Partnership.

Nyani Quarmyne

Nyani Quarmyne’s photographs of coastal erosion in Ghana bring a moving and powerful perspective to the discussion. Nyani is from Reading’s Twin Town of Düsseldorf.

Fiona Talkington (Chair)

BBC Radio presenter on Radio3 and 4 for over 20 years, Fiona was brought up and still lives in Reading. She has worked extensively in Norway with music, literature, art and film and has hosted and chaired events in the worlds of the arts, health and education in the UK and abroad.

Admission is free but tickets must be booked through Reading Fringe Festival

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Meeting with Matt Rodda

I had a good meeting with Matt Rodda (MP for East Reading) this afternoon. We talked about the plans that we have for the RCCP over the next couple of years, and what Matt can do to help us out. Of particular interest:

  • As we update the Reading Climate Change Strategy next year, we can identify regulatory barriers that are blocking our progress on energy saving and preparing for climate change. Matt will be able to help push for changes through parliament.
  • I talked about the need to develop an Adaptation Plan for Reading. This will give us a vision for how to keep people and businesses safe and able to thrive, given the challenges of climate change and the future weather extremes that will will face. I also talked about the Zero Carbon Reading plan. Together these should give us an optimistic vision for the future of our town.
  • Matt is the Shadow Minister for Transport, and we had a good discussion about how we can work together to influence more sustainable transport in Reading. This includes promoting cycling and bus use. We also talked about the importance of locating community infrastructure (e.g. swimming pools) so they are easily accessible by public transport…possibly reversing trends that prioritise access for private car parking.
  • Finally we discussed RCAN, and the need to make sure we get our messages across to communities and businesses across the whole of Reading. There are challenges here, which Matt can help with through his constituency work. Hopefully by sharing information on events we will be able to promote what we are doing to a wider audience.

Chris Beales
RCCP Chair
13/7/18