Speaking during Barnet Climate Action Month, campaigner Nick Mabey gave a sunny assessment of political progress towards a low-carbon future, despite the United States having moved away from its previous leading role.
Invited to QE by sixth-formers Vu-Lam Le-Nguyen and Keshav Aggarwal, the co-founder of climate change thinktank E3G argued that nativism and isolationism have too often hindered effective global climate action.
Yet, taking a long view, overall he found many reasons to be sanguine.
Year 12’s Vu-Lam said: “Mr Mabey delivered a fascinating talk. Perhaps most strikingly, he was optimistic about the progress made in climate diplomacy despite the scale of the challenge.”
Keshav, who is also in Year 12, added: “In looking at the challenges and opportunities involved in international climate policy, he reflected positively on international cooperation going right back to the Villach climate conference in 1985. ‘A huge amount is happening; it’s just an enormous issue,’ he observed.”
Mr Mabey mentioned especially the significant progress made since the 2015 Paris Agreement, pointing out that the largest increase in climate investment has come from China and East Asia, where investment has grown sixfold. Africa is beginning to adopt solar energy on a much larger scale, giving the continent enormous potential.
Mr Mabey was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Jubilee Honours list in 2022 for services to climate change and support to the UK COP26 Presidency. (Conference of the Parties, or COP, is the supreme decision-making body of the UN Framework on Climate Change, or UNFCCC). He is also a founder of London Climate Action Week, which finished on Sunday and mobilised 75,000 people to attend city-wide events ahead of the COP 31 UN Climate Change Conference taking place in Antalya, Türkiye, in November.
He spoke about the work of E3G (Third Generation Environmentalism) as it celebrates its 20th anniversary this month. Its purpose, he said, is “to build the machinery to make [climate action] happen,” adding that this was something that foreign ministries normally failed to do. One of its most significant achievements was helping to secure the first-ever climate security debate at the UN Security Council.
He also explained the ‘Iron Triangle’ that comes into play in COP negotiations: the EU and UK, developing nations, and the countries most vulnerable to climate change often operate as three separate blocs.
Successful climate action depends on making change acceptable to society, he added. “Fundamentally, we need to find a leverage point to make people comfortable.”
He was hosted by Vu-Lam and Keshav as part of their Ideas Unmuffled talk series.
During a question-and-answer session:
- Vu-Lam, who is one of QE’s 2026 Senior Vice-Captains, asked why the Montreal Protocol and Kigali Amendment (which concern reducing the consumption and production of hydrofluorocarbons) had been successful, while broader climate agreements have often struggled. Because, said Mr Mabey, the broader agreements often lack one or more of the conditions necessary for them to be effective: a clear and achievable goal, the necessary technology, and the willingness of major economic powers to act.
- Keshav asked whether the UK’s pursuit of net zero had made the country “colder and poorer,” as claimed by former Brexit Minister Steve Baker, among others. Mr Mabey argued that climate policies have instead helped improve the UK’s historically poor record on home insulation, making homes warmer and more energy-efficient. He further stated that dependence on fossil fuels leaves countries more vulnerable to energy price shocks, such as those caused by the war in Ukraine.
- Head of English Robert Hyland posed a question about careers in the green economy, to which Mr Mabey stressed that opportunities extend beyond STEM subjects. While confirming that careers in areas such as green agriculture and clean technology will continue to grow, he highlighted the importance of interdisciplinary roles that combine science, technology and the social sciences. In particular, he argued that the world needs more “people who do people” – individuals who can work in government, diplomacy and policy to bring about meaningful change.
Mr Mabey concluded his visit with a resounding final message: “Diplomacy is not something diplomats do. Diplomacy is something everybody does. Everybody can contribute to building something together.”
Sir Jacob is the latest in a range of speakers from across the political spectrum to visit. The occasion gave boys the opportunity to engage more deeply with politics and current affairs, and, through a question-and-answer session, to challenge him by putting to him some alternative perspectives.
Vu-Lam said: “Drawing from his portfolio of past Cabinet positions, Sir Jacob’s speech was fascinating, with reflections on his public service and predictions on the future of UK partisan politics. It was great to see students challenging conservative talking points and being answered with poise.”
Active since the 1970s in promoting classical liberal ideas, he decried what he saw as the recent decline in American democracy, but expressed his beliefs that, with the application of optimism it can be successfully renewed, and that all democracies must constantly look to renewal to avoid decline and collapse.
The invitation to QE came about after Senior Vice-Captain Vu-Lam Le-Nguyen met Dr Palmer at an event organised by the John Locke Institute. QE’s well-attended talk in The Robert Dudley Studio was organised by Vu-Lam and his fellow Year 12 student, Keshav Aggarwal.
A development economist by training, he explained how important it is to understand local culture and context to create appropriate policies. Local knowledge and processes might not make immediate sense to an outsider, but there are often good reasons for those processes, perhaps based on local geography. You cannot just impose western methods and expect them to work, he said.
In a special Lower School assembly lecture, he spoke of how he overcame his initial despair and, with the help of his wife, used the news as a springboard into what became the happiest period of his life. He is now a philanthropist, an advocate for several charities and a fundraising athlete.
Since his diagnosis he has completed numerous endurance events, including marathons, cycling challenges, triathlons and a 30 sports in 30 days feat – all to raise funds for Parkinson’s research. He even set Guinness World Records for the longest three-legged distances covered in 12 and 24 hours.
In the School’s mock election, the Liberal Democrats emerged as easily the biggest party, with 21 of the 46 seats in QE’s parliament.
The run-up to the mock election included a hustings, where parties made their pitches and fielded questions from the audience. All the candidates were drawn from Year 12.
In fact, turnout among Year 7 was easily the highest, at almost 80%. Only small numbers of Year 11 cast votes, having recently completed their GCSEs, while Year 13 have already left (and no postal votes were available). One seat was allocated for each of the 46 forms in the School, excluding forms in Year 13.
Still aged only 24, Neetu founded Haldi, a collective for South Asian artists, while an English Literature undergraduate at Oxford and is now studying towards a Master’s in Creative Writing at Cambridge.
She came to the School as part of QE Futures – a programme launched this year which aims to guide every pupil towards competitive degree-level university or apprenticeship courses and then to help them thrive both at university and beyond.