Conference call to work together for a low Carbon Highlands

14th November 2014

Over one hundred delegates will be welcomed to The Highland Council's second Carbon CLEVER Conference on Monday 17 November, in Inverness which this year is titled "Working Together for a Low Carbon Highlands".

Highland Council Convener and Conference Chair, Councillor Jimmy Gray said: "The range of speakers and delegates who have signed up to the conference shows real commitment from organisations in Highland to address climate change, and is testament to the vision of Carbon CLEVER.

“The day will feature an interactive, engaging and productive programme, featuring workshop sessions and a knowledge exchange marketplace. The event will also be webcast live on the Highland Council Webcasting website."

The event will showcase progress the Highlands has made in the past year to become a Carbon CLEVER region; provide opportunities to form new partnerships and collaborations; and give delegates a chance to outline key priorities for the Carbon CLEVER initiative over the next few years. Carbon CLEVER is a Highland Council led initiative which has a target of a carbon neutral Inverness in a low carbon Highlands by 2025.

Leader of the Highland Council, Councillor Drew Hendry said: “Carbon CLEVER is about common sense - it is about getting more from using less. It is about working with others to achieve shared goals, and it is about local organisations and communities driving the change that we would like to see in the Highlands. Working together will be key to achieving a low carbon Highlands. It will enable economies of scale to be achieved, more strategic investments to be implemented, and bigger wins for the Highlands.”

Depute Leader of the Highland Council, Councilor David Alston, added: “Ensuring that we act in ways which will safeguard the wellbeing of future generations is one of the greatest moral challenges of our time. We must set ambitious targets for ourselves, our communities, the business sector, and public bodies in order to make the necessary changes. The greatest threat to our common future is complacency.”

Keynote speakers at the conference being held in the Council's headquarters include:
· Richard Lochhead MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Food and the Environment;

· Calum Davidson, Highlands and Islands Enterprise;

· Hamish Trench, Cairngorms National Park Authority;

· Julian Holbrook, Keep Scotland Beautiful;

· Helen Houston, Kyle of Sutherland Development Trust; and

· representatives from NHS Highland and many other key stakeholders from across Scotland.

Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead said: “In just over a year, the world’s leaders will meet in Paris to agree a new international climate treaty that we hope will be ambitious enough to limit global temperature increase to less than 2 degrees Celsius. The Scottish Government is committed to playing its part by sharing our ambitious work on cutting emissions and I’m delighted to see the leadership also being shown by The Highland Council with its Carbon CLEVER initiative. I look forward to seeing the widespread benefits of this collaboration between businesses, the public sector and communities in cutting carbon emissions across the region.”