a £45 million science programme. As Head of Energy and Environment at the National Physical Laboratory she managed a team of 150 scientists working in air quality, greenhouse gas measurement, and renewable energy. She has been named as a “Young Global Leader” of the World Economic Forum and as one of the “40 under 40 European Young Leaders” by Friends of Europe, and is a previous UK Social Entrepreneur of the year.
Matt Whitney is Portfolio Manager at the Clean Air Fund. Matt leads the strategy and programme development for the Fund’s work on air quality data. Previously he was at the UK National Physical Laboratory, working with 150 scientists to increase the impact of its environmental science programme, which included air quality, greenhouse gas measurement, and renewable energy. Matt holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Dynamics and Climate Change and an undergraduate degree in Physical Geography.
Jenny Bates
The Just City (Part III) – Will air pollution on a death certificate for the first time lead to a better London? London’s air pollution problem has now risen up the agenda, and the solutions are clear – they just need implementing.
Jenny Bates is a campaigner with Friends of the Earth England, Wales and Northern Ireland, covering transport climate emissions and related air pollution issues. Jenny began her campaigning as co-ordinator of Greenwich Friends of the Earth voluntary group in East London while a professional photographer and photographic artist, and became a Friends of the Earth staff member in 2003, covering campaigning in London. Fighting proposed new road river crossings in East London, Jenny realised how bad air pollution was in the capital, and this issue became a key area of concern and activity. Jenny got Friends of the Earth signed up as a founding member of the Heathy Air Campaign in 2011, which had started after the UK missed its legal targets for nitrogen dioxide in 2010. She liaised with Friends of the Earth’s regional staff and local groups around the country on air pollution while working to persuade Friends of the Earth to run a major campaign on it. The Clean Air campaign started in 2016 and the issue is now incorporated within wider climate campaigning.
Colin le Duc
The Invested City – The invested city is the incubator for innovative and sustainable models to be tested and perfected into mainstream solutions.
Colin le Duc is a Founding Partner of Generation Investment Management. Generation is a dedicated sustainable investing firm with a mission to demonstrate the investment case for sustainability and advocate for sustainable capitalism. He is also a founding member of the Growth Equity strategy and a member of the Firm’s Management & Investment Committees. He is head of the firm’s San Francisco office. Prior to joining Generation, Colin worked for Sustainable Asset Management in Zurich, Arthur D. Little in London, and Total in Paris. Colin sits on the boards of the NGOs NatureBridge and Ocean Conservancy. He lives in California with his family and has lived in nine countries across the world throughout his life.
James Close
The Financed City – Redirecting and scaling up investment to make cities fit for the future is a global priority. Mobilizing finance for low carbon, economically, environmentally, and socially viable cities will create better cities, reduce risk, and support livelihoods.
James Close has spent his career working at the interface of the public and private sectors, with a focus on mobilizing finance. He is now committed to working on some of the most challenging global issues focusing on sustainable development and climate change. He is currently the head of climate change at NatWest Group, supporting the implementation of the bank’s purpose-led strategy, which includes the role of principal sponsor of COP26. He is also a member of the Energy and Natural Resources Advisory Group for the ICAEW and trustee for the Trust for Sustainable Living. Prior to this role, he was head of the circular economy programme for London, building an ecosystem for financing entrepreneurship and infrastructure.
Before returning to the UK, James spent five years in Washington, DC as Director for Climate Change at the World Bank. Prior to joining the World Bank, he was a partner in the Corporate Finance Practice of the accounting firm EY, and also worked for HM Treasury. James has a degree in Chemistry from the University of Durham and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales.
Adam Freed
The Adapted City – The chapter offers a global tour of the devastating impacts climate change is having on cities today, how poor urban planning and design has increasing climate risks, the actions cities are taking to adapt, and the changes needed to accelerate this work.
Adam Freed has more than 20 years of experience working on local and global urban issues. Adam leads the Sustainability Practice at Bloomberg Associates, a non-profit consultancy, where he works with cities around the world to craft and implement sustainability strategies covering a wide range of issues, including energy, greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation, climate resilience, housing affordability, green infrastructure, air quality, solid waste management, and neighbourhood revitalization.
Prior to joining Bloomberg Associates, Adam was the Deputy Managing Director of the Nature Conservancy’s Global Water Programme, where he worked with cities in 33 countries to have safe, sustainable, and reliable water supplies and developed innovative financing strategies for natural infrastructure solutions. From 2008 to 2012, he served as Deputy and Acting Director of the New York City (NYC) Mayor’s Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability, overseeing the implementation of PlaNYC and related sustainability initiatives and developing the city’s first climate resilience programme. As part of PlaNYC, the city planted 1 million trees, created more than 240 new community playgrounds, enacted the nation’s most aggressive green buildings legislation, achieved the cleanest air quality in over 50 years, launched a US$2 billion green infrastructure programme, and lowered its GHG emissions by 12%.
Adam is also a Lecturer at Columbia University and a member of the NYC Water Board, which is responsible for setting NYC’s water rates to fund the city’s water and sewer system’s operating and capital needs (approximately US$3.8 billion annually). In addition, he serves on the Board of ioby, a national crowd-resourcing platform to support community-led improvement projects; is an External Advisor to Fannie Mae’s Sustainable Communities Initiative; and is part of the Investor Advisory Group for the UN’s Joint SDG Fund. He received his Master’s in Urban Planning from New York University and was a Mel King Community Fellow at MIT.
Peter Bishop
The Open City – The open city celebrates its public spaces – its parks, squares, and streets. This is where the health of the city is judged. It needs to be protected, managed, and cared for. It is an essential ingredient of the richness and messiness of the twenty-first-century city.
Peter Bishop is a Professor of Urban Design at the Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London, and a partner of Bishop & Williams consultants. For 25 years he was a planning director at four different central London boroughs, and has worked
