Dear Members and Friends,
As COP26 draws to a close in Glasgow, the indications are that the challenge to limit temperature rise to 1.5 degrees will not be achieved through the commitments that have been made to date. There has clearly been significant progress across multiple fronts, but there is still a very long way to go. It remains the case that people around the world face real challenges driven by the impact of Climate Change, and that innovation and a collaborative approach to solving these complex challenges will be critical.
This week, on exactly the theme of innovation and collaboration, we were delighted to host an event to mark the launch of three reports compiled by members that provide real insight into the challenges faced in the areas of Extreme Weather Risk and Climate Resilience, Nature-based Solutions and the Built Environment. At the launch event we heard from Rodney Berkeley, the Director of Manufacturing, Energy and Infrastructure at the Department for International Trade. He mapped out the challenges, but also the opportunities ahead, and affirmed the desire to work very closely with business and with BEI to showcase that expertise that already exists in the UK. One of the co-chairs from each working group then presented a high-level overview of their paper. Emma Davies, from Palladium, led the presentation on Nature Based Solutions, Ruth Babbington from Energy Systems Catapult presented the details for the Built Environment and Mark Harvey, from Resurgence, presented (from the hall at COP26) on Extreme Weather Risk and Climate Resilience. In a brief but engaging Q&A, the key themes of Climate Finance, the role for Development Banks and the challenges of balancing a need for increased housing stock with the need to ensure it is ‘green’ and sustainable were all raised. You can access a recording of the event here, and read or download copies of the reports here.
Next week, we continue on the theme with our COP26 Post-Event Debrief and invite you to join us online. We will be discussing the key outputs and implications of COP26 from the perspectives of a panel that includes Evie Aspinall (British Foreign Policy Group), Clare Shakya (International Institute for Enviromint and Development) and Rebecca Groundwater (Energy Industries Council). We will explore what this means for UK business and the climate action agenda in general. Join us on Wednesday 17 November from 2.00pm and contribute to the discussion.
We are also looking forward to hosting the latest of our series of Trade Envoy round tables, when we look forward to welcoming Rushanara Ali MP — Trade Envoy to Bangladesh. She will be meeting with a small group of BEI members to help better understand the opportunities and barriers for UK exporters. There are still a small number of places still available, so if you are interested, please do get in contact with our events team.
A full calendar of other upcoming events is available here.
I wanted to reiterate my thanks to all the teams who have worked to create three very impressive reports that clearly showcase UK expertise and experience that our members offer globally. Over 25 BEI members participated in generating an impressive collection of the practical steps that are already being taken around the world leveraging the expertise that exists across our member base. These reports provide a great foundation to build on, and we will be ensuring we create platforms where the insight these reports contain can be share with a wider audience.
With Best Wishes
Derrick
Derrick Sanyahumbi
Chief Executive Officer
British Expertise International
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Upcoming Events
Currently most of our events are hosted virtually and we are starting to explore face to face and hybrid event options as the government eases socialising restrictions. For any event registration support please contact the events team. Click on titles to access full event details. The full calendar of events can be viewed here and recently added event dates are highlighted with an asterisk*.
17th November — Roundtable with Rushanara Ali MP — Trade Envoy to Bangladesh
17th November — BEI Climate Change Working Group
17th November* — BEI Climate Series: Post-COP26 Debrief
22nd November — Education Working Group Roundtable with Alicia Herbert
23rd November — BEI Diversity and Inclusion Working Group
23rd November — Event with the Ambassador of Azerbaijan to the UK
24th November — UNICEF & Education Systems Recovery
25th November — Lunch with Andrew Mitchell CMG
25th November — Doing Business with USAID
30th November — Roundtable with Trade Envoy Lord Davies
7th December — Jamaica: Infrastructure Opportunities
8th December* — Clean Growth Opportunities in Mexico
14th December* — Roundtable with Trade Envoy Marco Longhi
27th January* — Doing Business & Opportunities with the EBRD
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External News & Events
2nd — 22nd November — Department for International Trade (DIT) will host a virtual trade tour of Europe during the month of November to equip UK businesses for success in the region.
16th November — Department for International Trade (DIT) is hosting a free webinar on Doing business in Singapore. For UK SMEs, Singapore is one of the easiest places in the world to start, run and do business (World Bank, 2019) as both economies have similar business & legal practices and share similar technical standards. Learn more and register here.
16th November — The Department for International Trade will be hosting a Tanzania-UK Business Forum. The forum is in partnership between the Government of Tanzania, and Private Sector institutions, and will host VIP presentations from both the UK and Tanzania such as the Trade Envoy, and the Prime Minister of Tanzania. Use this link to register and find out more:
30th November- DIT is hosting Japan Market Briefing which is part of the Technology Growth Programme. The aim is to support UK based SMEs to grow their overseas presence. Colleagues from the British Embassy in Tokyo, JEITA, and the Japan Fintech Association will be joining us. For more information and to register please visit here.
7th December — UK Export Finance is hosting their fourth UK Trade and Export Finance Forum. They will return to the QEII Conference Centre in London from 09:00–19:00. This event will look at the role of trade finance in the transition towards clean growth and renewable energy. Learn more and register here.
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