PCAN student conference 2021

On Wednesday 20 January, ECCI hosted the first ever Place-based Climate Action Network (PCAN) Student Conference.

The conference was hosted by Professor Dan van der Horst (Principal Investigator for the PCAN project in Edinburgh), Dr Matt Lane (a PCAN Fellow) and Rosanna Harvey-Crawford, ECCI's PCAN co-ordinator.

The conference was a chance for students to present their dissertation findings and share their experiences of working with Matt and Rosanna in the PCAN Dissertation group last year.

Topics ranged from degrowth and adaptation management in Edinburgh, to business motivators for addressing climate change. Colleagues from ECCI and PCAN joined the conference alongside MSc students from the 2020-21 cohort to listen to the presentations, each lasting 10 minutes.

The presentations prompted interesting discussions on different forms of climate action, with students providing thought-provoking and sometimes challenging insights into mitigation and adaptation activity in Edinburgh and beyond.

As well as being a platform for the students’ presentations, the conference was also designed to inspire and encourage this year’s MSc cohort to write a dissertation in collaboration with PCAN. With this in mind, a new research group, RECALL (Research and Engagement on Climate Action at the Local Level), was announced. RECALL will bring together students, academics and practitioners to work collaboratively and produce high quality research, with the aim of developing and sharing knowledge on local climate action.

Watch a recording of the conference and visit the RECALL site here.

Place-based Climate Action Network (PCAN)

ECCI is helping to deliver a new initiative to boost climate action in Edinburgh, Belfast and Leeds.

The Place-based Climate Action Network (PCAN) will help the UK meet its climate targets by catalysing cross-sector action and increasing the flow of green finance.