We were delighted to be welcoming Sam Fankhauser, Professor of Climate Economics and Policy at Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, University of Oxford, as the first guest of our Net Zero Working Group. He began by outlining how the United Kingdom has made a good start in its journey to Net Zero. Our emissions are down by 40% since 1990 whilst our GDP is up 80%. However, this reflects wider socio-economic factors with a structural shift from industry to services and the offshoring of emissions. The Climate Change Act 2008 has also played a significant role. Sam went on to discus four implications of Brexit:

• No impact on ambition;

• Different GDP predictions;

• Impact on current delivery mechanisms that will need to be translated into UK Law.

• Protection of domestic industries could mitigate against the Brexit quest for Free Trade Agreements.

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