Green MEP visits the University of Reading to learn about cutting-edge environmental research
21 April 2017
Experts at the University of Reading demonstrated cutting-edge environmental science to a European Parliament Minister in the latest example of how its research informs national policy.
Keith Taylor, Green Party MEP for the South East, visited the university on Wednesday 19 April to hear from scientists at the forefront of research aimed at protecting the UK environment from the harmful effects of climate change, flooding and fracking.
The MEP met Dr Tom Oliver, Associate Professor and expert in ecology and biodiversity, to learn about his recently-published research on using a new process to map Britain’s wildlife and protect it from the effects of fracking.
Dr Oliver is a member of the European Environment Agency Scientific Committee. Another of his published studies explores how bird and butterfly biodiversity is being impacted by climate change and intensive land use.
Mr Taylor, the Green Party's animals spokesperson, discussed with him the importance of retaining EU wildlife and environmental laws in order to protect and preserve the UK's biodiversity post-Brexit.
During his visit to Reading, the MEP was welcomed by the University’s Dean for the Environment, Dr Phil Newton. He also heard presentations on world-leading research on climate change, flood management, pollinator declines and tree health taking place on campus.
Dr Oliver said: “It was great to meet with Keith Taylor MEP and discuss how the environmental science that we do here at the University of Reading can meaningfully contribute the excellent work that European Parliament Ministers do in tackling a range of pressing environmental issues both in the UK and across Europe.”
Earlier in the day, Mr Taylor, a trustee of the international Climate Parliament, met Dr Jan Rosenow, an expert in energy efficiency, at the University of Oxford.
Dr Rosenow’s research explores ways to create a world that consumes less energy, is more sustainable, and socially just. He works with the Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP), a global, non-profit team of experts focused on the long-term economic and environmental sustainability of power generation.
Through RAP, Jan is one of the European Commission’s key advisers on energy efficiency and requested a meeting with Keith to discuss his professional concerns about Brexit and the implications for UK energy policy.
Picture caption: (L/R) Dr Joanna Clark, Associate Professor of Geography and Environmental Science; Dr Tom Oliver, Associate Professor in Landscape Ecology; Dr Phil Newton, University Dean for the Environment; Keith Taylor, Green Party MEP; Professor Nigel Arnell, Professor of Meteorology (Pic credit: Owen Williams)