The climate emergency | what opportunities and risks face the UK resources & waste sector?
There are now only a few people who do not believe in the climate emergency facing planet Earth and most accept that society must play a critical role addressing this crisis, but which sector’s should we focus our efforts on to go carbon net zero by 2050, and just what are the risks and opportunities for the resources & waste sector?
The waste sector has made significant progress in the last 20 years in terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions (down by 69% from 1990 levels). We are being asked to play our role in the next step change required, and give the target of net zero carbon by 2050, but is that fair, is it realistic or deliverable? These questions are the start of discussions, we will consider just how far electric RCV fleets and increased recycling performance can go to decarbonising the sector.
The panel will be challenged to decipher the true meaning of ‘net zero carbon’ in terms of the UK and what this should mean for those of us working in waste management. Just what is our sector’s expected contribution and how could we play a bigger role in the future as the UK increases activity to green the economy and reduce emissions? What are the opportunities for us to help deliver reduced consumption, enhanced reuse, improved recycling and even wider energy & heat recovery in a UK policy environment where net carbon zero is the only real target?
We will invite questions in advance, and will get the panel to dig deep and discuss some of the measures that their organisations have already put in place to reduce overall emissions. Should our sector become focused on producing fertilisers and composts for agricultural productivity, or should we capture plastics and provide critical feedstock for greening both aviation or chemical sectors, whilst the future of SRF production to reduce the cement industries footprint will also be considered. These and many issues will be addressed in this webinar, which will try to simplify the undoubted complexity of our sector’s transition to carbon neutrality and beyond.
This event is sponsored by SUEZ Recycling and Recovery UK.
