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November 19 @ 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Free
Lincoln University is proud to welcome back a cornerstone of New Zealand’s environmental conversation – the State of the Nation’s Environment Address, originally pioneered by Emeritus Professor Ian Spellerberg. This distinguished lecture series brings together leading voices to critically examine the health of our environment and the systems that shape its future.
This year’s keynote speaker is Simon Upton, Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment. His address will focus on gaps – things that we do not know about the state of our environment – and whether it matters. One of the leitmotifs during his tenure as the Commissioner has been the need for better environmental information.
Almost all of his reports have highlighted issues with environmental information in this country – be that incomplete coverage and limited accessibility or outright gaps – and called for improvement. High quality environmental information needs to be a key foundation for any policy or on-the-ground decisions.
6:00pm – 6:30pm | Opening Ceremony & Welcome
Welcome from Lincoln University Vice Chancellor
Acknowledgements – Prof. Roy Montgomery to address Event Series Founder, Ian Spellerberg
6:30pm – 7:15pm | Keynote Address
Keynote Speaker, Simon Upton
Followed by a brief Q&A
7:15pm – 8:00pm | Refreshments
Join us for this renewed Lincoln University tradition as we look critically — and constructively — at the state of our environment and the challenges that lie ahead.
CLICK HERE TO GO TO EVENT LINK TO REGISTER
About Our Speaker
Simon Upton was sworn in as Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment for a five-year term on 16 October 2017 and as reappointed for a second term in 2022. Mr Upton is a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand and a Rhodes Scholar, with degrees in English literature, music and law from the University of Auckland, and an MLitt in political philosophy from Oxford University.
He was sworn in as a member of the Privy Council in 1999. A Member of Parliament between 1981 and 2000, Mr Upton held a variety of ministerial portfolios including environment, research, biosecurity, health and state services between 1990 and 1999.
After leaving Parliament, Mr Upton moved to Paris to chair the Round Table on Sustainable Development at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). In 2005, he returned to New Zealand to pursue a number of private sector roles while continuing to chair the Round Table. He returned to the OECD as Environment Director in 2010 and led the OECD’s contribution to the 2015 Paris Climate Accord. He returned to take up the role of Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment in 2017.
As Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Mr Upton provides the New Zealand House of Representatives with independent commentary on environmental legislation, policies and agencies. He has delivered major reports on biogenic greenhouse gas emissions and forestry offsets, the fate of chemical contaminants in the environment and the environmental impact of tourism amongst others. He has also reviewed the environmental reporting system, environmental research funding and the budget process, and delivered environmental expenditure estimates. He leads a multi-disciplinary team of analysts in Wellington.
His office’s work programme and publications can be explored here.