Waterline Summit to return with ‘eyes of the world on the Humber’

The Waterline Summit is returning as an even bigger and more ambitious event, linking the Humber to the globally critical COP26 climate change conference.

The flagship summit – the largest and most important of its kind in the north of England – will position the Humber as central to the global climate challenge facing world leaders.

It will feature the businesses, academic institutions, public sector and community groups leading the drive to a zero-carbon economy across the region.

Held over five days from October 18 to 22, just weeks before COP26, The Waterline Summit 2021 will link innovative decarbonisation projects and pioneering work taking place to tackle climate change in the Humber to similar efforts across the world.

COP26 is the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference, being held in Glasgow in November. Every country in the world will be represented at the event, with US President Joe Biden expected to attend to mark America’s return to the Paris Agreement committing nations to work together to limit global warming.

The legally binding Paris Agreement on climate change was adopted by all 196 parties at COP21 in 2015 and progress against the targets it set will be addressed at COP26.

Organised by Marketing Humber, The Waterline Summit will be a hybrid of in-person panel discussions and events and immersive virtual experiences over the course of five days.

The Waterline Summit is supported by its Event Partners the University of Hull, Yorkshire Water, Yorkshire Energy Park and Ørsted, as well as its COP26 Partner, Zero Carbon Humber.

Lee Pitcher, Head of Partnerships for Yorkshire Water and General Manager of Living With Water, said: “Having a platform like The Waterline Summit not only highlights the important role the region can play on a local and global scale to tackle climate change, but also showcases the collaborative work we are doing here that leads the way in flood mitigation.

“We are thrilled to partner this event again and look forward to sharing more about the work we are doing to build resilience across the region.”

Bill Walker, Chair of Marketing Humber, said: “The Waterline campaign has sparked commitment and ambition across the Humber to transform threat into opportunity. This has created a fantastic platform to recognise, network and promote the excellence in decarbonisation, renewables and environmental resilience in the UK’s biggest carbon generating region.

“There is no equivocation – reaching net zero for the Humber is a necessity for our communities and for the UK as a whole. There is also no hesitation – decarbonising the Humber is a challenge to which we are already rising."