The 65th George Scott Robertson Memorial Lecture took place recently at Riddel Hall, Queen’s University Belfast, with Dr Nicola Ranger of Oxford University delivering the keynote address, sharing her expertise and knowledge on managing nature-based risks, such as flooding, pollution and biodiversity loss, and their impact on the UK and global economy, as well as the opportunities for green finance to secure a prosperous future.

 

Supported by The Gibson Trusts and organised by the Institute for Global Food Security (IGFS) at Queen’s University Belfast, Agri-Food & Biosciences Institute (AFBI), Department of Agriculture, Environment & Rural Affairs (DAERA) and the Ulster Famers’ Union (UFU), the annual lecture series was initiated in 1951 to perpetuate the memory of Dr George Scott Robertson who played a prominent role in promoting agricultural progress in Northern Ireland from 1921 to 1948.

 

As the Director of the Global Finance and Economy Group at the Environmental Change Institute and the Resilient Planet Finance Lab, Dr Ranger shared her insights into the opportunities for green finance to secure resilience, security and prosperity across the UK. Working at the interface between science, risk analytics, finance, economics, and policy, guests at the lecture heard how organisations can factor climate and environmental risks into their decision making and leverage new nature-based investments to ultimately secure revenues, jobs and resilience.

 

Discussing the links between nature and prosperity, Dr Ranger highlighted that the UK is amongst the most environmentally degraded in the world and that this could translate into years of lost growth for the UK economy. Commenting she said, “the UK faces considerable risks due to nature loss, but with good policy and positive partnerships between government, finance and business we can turn risk into opportunity. The agri-foods sector in particular sits at the nexus of resilience, nature and security; the food security it offers the UK enhances national resilience, yet unsustainable practices can undermine its long-term productivity through its impact on nature. As stewards of land, the sector itself is an important part of the solution, and this offers opportunities both for farmers and for the prosperity and security of the nation as a whole. It was great to see so many in the room this evening and I was inspired by the innovations and dialogue happening in the region. I was delighted to be able to show the impact that mobilising sustainable investment can have on the agri food sector in Northern Ireland.”

 

Dr Ranger’s research is supported by the Natural Environment Research Council Integrating Finance and Biodiversity (IFB) programme in collaboration with Queens University Belfast and research institutions across the UK.

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For queries regarding this event, please contact Michael Hills, Events and Campaigns Coordinator (m.hills@qub.ac.uk)