Transforming UK land for Net Zero

The UK government promised a national land use framework before the end of 2023, which has yet to appear. There are increasing pressures on UK land, from farming for local food supply, energy production (solar, wind and biofuels), housing development, nature regeneration, carbon sequestration, etc.

With increasing complexity and potential for trade-offs between different sectors and land uses, how can policy makers set the direction?

How do we ensure that future land use decisions allow for a just transition for people and environment?

Is the current support from government sufficient for the urgency and scale of the challenge?

About the panel

Dr Nina Skorupska CBE FEI is the Chief Executive at REA, The Association for Renewable Energy and Clean Technology. Prior to joining the REA in 2013, Nina worked for 20 years for the RWE Group (and UK predecessors: National Power, Npower etc.) across fuel engineering and R&D, power station operations (where she was Npower’s first female power station manager) and trading. Her last RWE role was CTO, Essent (RWE’s Dutch business). She is a Board member of Transport for London (TfL), REAL (REA subsidiary), and more recently Royal BAM Group NV. She also advises Carbon Trust, National Grid ESO and Energy Research Accelerator (ERA) and others. She is a Fellow of the Energy Institute. She received her CBE in 2016 for her services to renewable energy sector and promoting diversity in the Energy Industry.

Sue Pritchard is the Chief Executive of the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission. Sue leads the organisation in its mission to bring people together to act on the climate, nature and health crises, through fairer and more sustainable food systems, and a just transition for rural communities and the countryside. Sue’s background is in combined research and practice in leadership and organisation development for systems change, working with leaders across public, private and not for profit organisations, especially on complex partnership projects. She is a Trustee of CoFarm Foundation and is an independent Governor at Royal Agricultural University. Living on an organic farm in Wales, Sue and her family raise livestock and farm for conservation.

Marie-Laure Hicks is Head of Policy at Aldersgate Group and is responsible for developing and overseeing its policy work programme across energy and environment topics, including power systems, industrial decarbonisation, planning, skills, and nature. Prior to joining Aldersgate Group, Marie-Laure has led a portfolio of complex and impactful policy projects at RAND Europe, the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology. Marie-Laure is an engineer by training, with a PhD in diamond transistors for the smart grid. is Head of Policy at Aldersgate Group and is responsible for developing and overseeing its policy work programme across energy and environment topics, including power systems, industrial decarbonisation, planning, skills, and nature. Prior to joining Aldersgate Group, Marie-Laure has led a portfolio of complex and impactful policy projects at RAND Europe, the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology. Marie-Laure is an engineer by training, with a PhD in diamond transistors for the smart grid.

Dr Carole Dalin is Associate Professor in Sustainable Food Systems since August 2021. She leads the Sustainable Food Systems research team at the Institute for Sustainable Resources of UCL. She joined the Institute for Sustainable Resources at University College London (UCL) in August 2016 as a NERC Independent Research Fellow, with a proleptic academic appointment (to start at the end of the NERC Fellowship). Her fellowship research focused on the environmental sustainability of global food production and trade. From 2014 to 2016, Carole was a Research Officer at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics. There, she worked on the Southern Africa’s Hydro-Economy and Water Security (SAHEWS) project with Declan Conway, concentrating on the water-food-energy nexus of Southern Africa, and on the socio-economic implications of climate forecasts, regarding natural resources management in particular.

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About UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources

At the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources our teaching and research focuses on a wide range of sustainability challenges – from transitions to net-zero energy systems, to circular economies and sustainable, healthy food systems. Founded in 2011 by Professor Paul Ekins, we are one of four Institutes within The Bartlett School of Environment, Energy and Resources with a shared mission to address the challenges of global sustainability.