Britain is more culturally diverse than ever before. 8 million people, 14% of the population of England and Wales, belong to an ethnic minority group, up from 9% in 2001. London is home to 270 nationalities speaking 300 languages. Should we be doing more to support integration and avoid segregation and isolation? A new infographic, commissioned by the RGS-IBG as part
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An infographic commissioned to accompany the 21st Century Challenges discussion series illustrates the challenge of tackling flood risk in the UK. The infographic was displayed at a 21st Century Challenges public discussion on ‘Flooding: National Problem, Local Solutions‘ at the Rheged Centre on Saturday 11th March. Infographic by Greg Stevenson.
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The Prime Minister, Theresa May, has signalled that the UK is on track to trigger Article 50 by the end of this month, following the Government’s decisive win for the ‘Brexit Bill’ in the Houses of Parliament on 13th March. There is no doubt that the process of the UK beginning to remove itself from the EU is a ‘defining
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In an article published in Geographical this month, writer Karen Lloyd reflects on the experiences of those who were hit by severe flooding in Cumbria in the winter of 2015/16. In a few weeks’ time, on 11th March, the RGS-IBG is hosting a public discussion meeting at the Rheged Centre in Penrith, bringing together for an afternoon those who have
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“We need to take environmental discussions out of the technocratic closet and make them popular” was Baroness Kate Parminter’s take home message from this year’s Burntwood Lecture, held by the Institution of Environmental Sciences. In her lecture, Baroness Parminter, the Liberal Democrat spokesperson in the House of Lords for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, addressed the ‘separation anxiety’ that
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Alex Chisholm, the Permanent Secretary at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (DBEIS), indicated earlier this year that the UK Government will publish its ‘Emissions Reduction Plan’ by the end of February 2017. The Emissions Reduction Plan will set out how the Government intends to meet post-2020 greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets, including the Fifth Carbon Budget, which
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The energy system is inherently geographical; the current system is dominated by centralised points of large-scale transformation, connected spatially to sites of consumption through infrastructure that transports and transmits electricity and natural gas via the National Grid and the national transmission network. Yet this system is based on fossil fuels. To meet the legally binding targets within the UK’s 2008 Climate Change
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On Saturday 11 March 2017, the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG)’s 21st Century Challenges team and North West region will hold a discussion in Cumbria focusing on how communities are building resilience in the face of increased flood risk and whether Cumbria’s experience can help develop a flood plan for the whole of the UK. Saturday 11 March 2.30pm – 6.00pm (Discussion
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A ‘United’ Kingdom? – Policy Forum 6 March, 6.00pm – 8.00pm (Registration and refreshments from 5.30pm; networking reception 8.00pm – 9.00pm) Join our expert panel to discuss how we can tackle divisions and inequalities within places and communities across the UK at the latest 21st Century Challenges Policy Forum. Click here for more information. Explore past events in the
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A fundamental change is required to the way in which we view flood management and flood defence in the UK: this was one of the take-home messages from the latest 21st Century Challenges Policy Forum, held at the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) on Tuesday 8 November. Professor Colin Thorne, a member of the panel for the evening, drawing on
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