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Event recordings from Love Your Planet 2025 now available
14 March 2025
Now in its second year, UCL's Love Your Planet event aspires to transform awareness into action by exploring how businesses, policymakers, academics, and activists in the UK can accelerate the green transition. Watch session recordings below.
Love Your Planet is a day dedicated to connections, insights, and action, uniting UCL's esteemed faculty, students, and guests with policy influencers, industry leaders, and civil society advocates. Together, we aim to illuminate decision-making processes with empirical research and expertise while inspiring the next generation of climate pioneers.
LYP2025: Welcome from UCL's SU Sustainability Officer
Alan Salazar Guerra, Sustainability Officer for the Students Union at UCL, explains why the conference is an important space for communities to "come together, confront difficult questions and inspire action".
LYP2025: All about the Climate Reality Project, with welcome from CEO Phyllis Cuttino
Shooka Bidarian (Environmental Correspondent and Sustainability Expert) tells us about the diverse work of the Climate Reality Project, and Phyllis Cuttino (CEO and President) explains why 'hope and political will' are needed in tackling the climate crisis, driven by the principles of ‘Resolve,’ ‘Resilience,’ and ‘Reality’.
LYP2025: Sir David King on the urgent need for climate action
Sir David King, head of the Climate Crisis Advisory Group and former Chief Scientific Advisor to the UK Government, sets out plainly the extent of the challenge our planet is facing and tells us exactly what needs to be done by world leaders.
LYP2025: Are international climate negotiations fit for purpose?
Dr Simon Chin-Yee (UCL Political Science) hosts a panel discussion around the importance (or not) of international climate negotiations - such as COP - in the past, present and future. He is joined by Sir David King (former Chief Scientific Adviser to the UK Government), Farhana Yamin (Climate Lawyer and Activist), Dr Jared Finnegan (UCL Political Science), Andrew Simms (New Weather Institute) and Shooka Bidarian (Environmental Correspondent and Sustainability Expert).This discussion was held in collaboration with UCL Disagreeing Well.
LYP2025: How rapidly can the UK reach net zero? With intro from Professor Piers Forster
Professor Piers Forster, Interim Chair of the UK Climate Change Committee, explains the work of the CCC in reporting progress towards net zero and their latest recommendations to government. Following this, Professor Eloise Scotford (Dean of UCL Laws) is joined by Professor Forster, Professor Susan Michie (Director of the UCL Centre for Behaviour Change), Neil Anderson (Soly UK) and Owen Jones (Journalist and Author). The panel discusses the opportunities and obstacles across sectors in reaching net zero.
LYP2025: Ollie Pendered on the importance of community energy solutions
Ollie Pendered (CEO of Community Energy South) tells us exactly what community energy is, why it's important in tackling climate change at the local level, and how he's seen how well it can work first-hand.
LYP2025: How can local communities accelerate the net-zero transition?
Professor Jim Watson (UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources) asks the panel of local climate experts about how the climate crisis should be addressed at the level that is perhaps most relevant to us all: our local communities. Joining the discussion are Harold Garner (London Borough of Camden), Emma Fletcher (Octopus Energy), Mark Chivers (Zero Carbon Dorset) and Jess Pepper (Climate Cafe®).
LYP2025: Fireside chat with Tom Heap and Shooka Bidarian
In the final session of Love Your Planet 2025, Tom Heap (Broadcaster and Author) talks to Shooka Bidarian (Environmental Correspondent and Sustainability Expert) about the challenges and opportunities in how the media communicates the climate crisis in 2025 and beyond. They also discuss the need for us to be 'land smart' to enable a sustainable future.