Council for the Future

The need for a better informed, evidence-based and balanced public debate on tackling climate change.

There is a gulf between the rhetoric of some of the world’s politicians and reality of the world economy.  The green economy is the fastest growing sector globally behind only the tech sector [iii]. Despite the US climate rollbacks, for corporate America net zero signifies a race to secure future markets, investments and jobs.  The greater risk for nations and for businesses is one of falling behind on net zero. 

The UK has a strong track record on climate leadership.  UK emissions have halved since 1990 whilst the economy grew by 80%. [iv]  But progress has been largely due to decarbonising the power sector.  Less progress has been made in sectors where people need to make changes in their own lives.  As focus turns increasingly to these areas, the once strong cross party-political consensus on net zero is fracturing.

The Council for the Future will put a spotlight on the public debate surrounding net zero.  The focus of discussion and activities in 2026 will build on the findings of the roundtable discussion series jointly convened in 2025 by the Centre for Energy Ethics and Greener Vision.  The series highlighted a range of policy priorities, governance and institutional issues and tactics for engaging with the public on tackling climate change.

Lord Deben (formerly John Gummer); London, UK; 24 July 2018; Photo credit: © CLIVE BARDA/ArenaPAL;

The Rt Hon Lord Deben | Chair, Council for the Future 

The Rt. Hon John Gummer, Lord Deben, is the founder and Chairman of Sancroft International, a consultancy that advises both businesses and investors on all areas of Sustainability and ESG. Between 2012 and 2023 he was Chairman of the UK’s Independent Climate Change Committee. Lord Deben was also the UK’s longest serving Secretary of State for the Environment (1993-97) having previously been Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food. His sixteen years of top-level ministerial experience also include Minister for London, Employment Minister, and Paymaster General in HM Treasury. Lord Deben is currently Chairman of Valpak Ltd and of PIMFA, the trade body representing financial advisers and wealth managers. Throughout his political, business, and personal life Lord Deben has consistently championed an accord between sustainability and business sense.

Alex Sobel MP, Chair of the Global Deforestation All-Party Parliamentary Group 

Alex is a British Labour and Co-operative politician who has served as the Member of Parliament for Leeds Central and Headingley, previously Leeds North West, since 2017. He served as Shadow Minister for Nature Recovery and the Domestic Environment from 2021 to 2023.  He is Chair of the Global Deforestation All Party Parliamentary Group which provides a cross-party forum to discuss and promote greater awareness of the impacts of global deforestation for climate, communities, nature and human rights.  He was formerly Chair of the Net Zero All Party Parliamentary Group and is a member of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Climate Change.  He is also a Vice-Chair of the Climate and Nature Crisis Caucus which brings together MPs and Peers from across parties to champion joined-up action on climate and nature.

Cllr Bridget Smith, Leader of South Cambridgeshire District Council

Bridget was drawn into politics 15 years ago at the same time as commencing work as a self employed community development consultant specialising in environmentally sustainable community buildings. She has won many awards for this work. She became the local Liberal Democrat District Councillor for her home village of Gamlingay in 2008 and Leader of South Cambridgeshire District Council in 2018.  She sits on the board of the Cambridge and Peterborough Combined Authority; she leads on the DCN for the Liberal Democrats and is a board member of the Local Government Association. When Bridget became the Council Leader in 2018, she vowed that the Council would be “Green to Our Core”. Climate change and environmental considerations are now fully embedded in everything they do.

Edward Morello MP, Co-Chair Net Zero All Party Parliamentary Group

Edward is a British Liberal Democrat politician who has been the Member of Parliament for West Dorset since 2024.  The Net Zero All Party Parliamentary Group, which he co-chairs, accelerates policy change, promotes zero carbon solutions, supports clean growth technology and embeds the UK’s commitment to a zero carbon economy.  It provides a forum for MPs and peers to collectively advocate for urgent government action for a low carbon future in the UK. He is also a member of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Climate Change which provides vision, innovation and leadership on climate change. Edward is an environmentalist who has worked in renewable energy investment.  He chairs the ClimateTech All Party Parliamentary Group.

Graham Leadbitter MP, Shadow SNP Spokesperson for Energy Security and Net Zero

Graham was elected the Member of Parliament for Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey in July 2024 for the SNP. Previously Graham served as a Councillor from 2007-2024 and was leader of Moray Council from 2018 – 2022. At Westminster, Graham is the party’s spokesperson for energy, leading for the party in the House of Commons Chamber on all things energy costs, renewables, and the pursuit of a just transition to Net Zero.  Graham is a member of the Net Zero All Party Parliamentary Group which provides a forum for MPs and peers to collectively advocate for urgent government action on net zero.  He is also a member of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Climate Change which provides vision, innovation and leadership on climate change.

Simon Hoare MP, Vice Chair Climate and Nature Crisis Caucus

Simon is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for North Dorset since 2015. He was formerly Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Local Government from November 2023 until July 2024.  Simon is a Vice-Chair of the Climate and Nature Crisis Caucus (CNCC) which brings together MPs and Peers from across parties to champion joined-up action on climate and nature.  The CNCC is an informal, cross-party group committed to advancing science-led policy, breaking down silos, and strengthening the UK’s leadership on the global stage. Its purpose is to highlight practical solutions that work for people, the planet, and the economy.

Dr Douglas Parr, Policy Director at Greenpeace UK

Doug has specialised in climate change policy in across power, heat and transport sectors for many years, and all aspects of the social and economic transition. He also monitors developments in issues such as bioenergy, agriculture and land use. He has previously worked on a number of issues including chemicals policy, green refrigeration, waste and marine conservation. He believe that the so-called climate consensus has been immensely important to the UK being a world leader in clean energy. And that its breakdown from mis- and dis-information threatens to undermine the contribution the UK, still an important G7 country, can make towards a safer outcome on climate change.

Professor Glenn Lyons Mott MacDonald Professor of Future Mobility at the University of the West of England

“My first grandchild will be 77 in the year 2100. The world feels quite scary in 2026, though she’s currently, and thankfully, oblivious to that. The future of those who we care about is in the balance and affected by our actions in the present. Action on climate change remains crucial. There is widespread public concern over climate change that can be married up with clear messaging about the benefits of climate action for our lives in the present as well as in the future. Surely this is something we can be united over and move together on to achieve change for the better?”

Professor Jillian Anable is the Professor of Transport and Energy at the Institute for Transport Studies, University of Leeds.

Jillian leads the Transport and Mobility Theme in the UKRI’s Centre for Research on Energy Demand Solutions as well as the Energy for Mobility Theme of the UK Energy Research Centre.  She has sat on a number of advisory boards and strategy panels for UK Government Departments, the Climate Change Committee, US Dept. of Energy, HoL Science and Tech Committee, RCUK and NGOs, most recently acting as Chair to the Research and Evidence Group for the Scottish National Transport Strategy Review and Steering Group member of the UK Government’s Electric Vehicle Energy Taskforce.

Paul Campion is CEO of TRL, a world-renowned research, consultancy and software company, formerly the UK Government’s Transport Research Laboratory

“I can’t predict the future; no group of experts, no matter how wise and well-informed can. The world is too complex and interconnected. But the fact that things may (will) turn out differently that we expect does not mean we should stop looking at what we are doing now and talking about what we have good reason to believe the consequences will be. There are many voices telling their own stories about the present and the future and it is not a time for experience and expertise to sit on the sidelines: it is a time for counsel.”

Rachel Solomon Williams, Executive Director Aldersgate Group

Rachel has been leading the Aldersgate Group Secretariat since mid-2023, as part of a 24-year career working on energy and environment issues. Rachel worked on Defra’s then-pioneering climate change business engagement programme during 2005, sparking her interest in the opportunity for businesses to deliver a positive impact. Since then, Rachel has explored these issues through leadership roles within public, private and non-profit sectors. Highlights of her career  have included leading policy development for the Climate Change Act, working on the UK’s first Renewable Energy Roadmap, developing the Tesco climate strategy, and establishing the UK’s sustainable aviation fuel policy framework.

Professor Mette M High, Director of the Centre for Energy Ethics and Professor in Social Anthropology, University of St Andrews | Co-convenor, Council for the Future

“As an anthropologist, I believe in the importance of dialogue and collaboration, especially with those who see the world differently. Climate change calls on all of us to bring that same openness, imagination, and shared sense of purpose to the table. The science is clear, but scientific consensus alone won’t solve this crisis—real progress depends on people working together across political lines and personal interests. By keeping climate action non‑partisan and committing to dialogue and the ability to disagree well, we can move beyond our silos and unlock the collaboration needed to shape a better future for everyone.”

Claire Haigh, Founder & CEO Greener Vision and The Tabula Project | Co-convenor, Council for the Future

“The window to avoid irreversible climate impacts and biodiversity loss is rapidly closing.   How can we approach climate policy differently?  How can we prevent short-term thinking and political expediency from driving critical decision making?  Climate change is a global problem calling for unprecedented levels of cooperation.  We need an approach that builds unity not division.  We must harness the forces pushing forward on clean energy and work together to ensure an equitable transition to an environmentally sustainable future that can benefit everyone.  Our thinking needs to change if we are to rise the scale of the climate crisis.  For real and lasting change, we must start with ourselves”

The Tabula Project Roundtable Discussions in 2025 highlighted a range of policy priorities, governance and institutional issues and tactics for engaging with the public on tackling climate change.  Public concern about climate change is consistently high[v] but analysis shows that the British media is increasingly divorcing net zero from climate change.[vi] Climate action is being obstructed and delayed by false and misleading information.^[vii]

• Policy priorities: ensuring a fair and just transition to net zero, prioritising growth that addresses our climate and nature crises, pricing properly for carbon and ensuring that the cost of goods and services covers their true environmental impact.
• Governance and Institutional: strengthening public debate on net zero, working to establish a clearer distinction between fact and fiction in the media and ensuring greater democratic accountability.
• Tactics and Communications: the importance of treating the climate crisis as an emergency, engaging with the public on net zero through positive storytelling, and the power of leading by example.