21st Century Challenges: engaging with issues facing you today

London Under Water     Chair Evan Davis Panel David Wardle Rowan Douglas   18 June 2008, 19.00 Videos of this event will be available online soon. If you wish to receive updates on the project, please email 21cc@rgs.org A panel of experts, chaired by BBC's Evan Davis, explored the threat of flooding to London’s people & infrastructure. The discussion examined how current defence systems will cope with enhanced flood risk to the capital over the next 30 years.   With £80 billion worth of infrastructure at stake if London did flood. How prepared is the city?   What is the insurance industry doing to safeguard and manage the risk to capital in the capital?   Can urban development actually reduce flood risk?   Can the Thames Barrier cope with the rising sea levels and storm surge predictions? Speaker biographies Evan Davis is the presenter of BBC Radio 4's Today programme and Dragons' Den on BBC2. His previous role was as the BBC's Economics Editor, responsible for reporting and analysing economic developments on a range of programmes on BBC radio and television, particularly the Ten O'Clock News.  Dave Wardle is the Thames Estuary Programmes Executive at the Environment Agency. He oversees the management of strategic projects within the estuary on: • Thames Gateway Sustainable Development – Ensuring a quality environment is integral to the development of the estuary’s sustainable communities • Thames Estuary 2100 – Tackling flood risk in the Thames estuary through the 21st century • Floodscape – Exploring new approaches to flood risk management with European partners • Olympics – Ensuring a legacy of environmental improvements • The Thames Tideway – Finding a solution to combined sewer overflows to the Thames Rowan Douglas is the Chairman of the Willis Research Network. Willis Group Limited, headquartered in London, is one of only three major risk management and insurance intermediaries that operate on a worldwide basis. The Group, together with its associates employs 12,500 people and is represented through a network of 235 offices in 73 countries.    Alex Nickson is the Strategy Manager for Climate Change Adaptation and Water at the Greater London Authority, where he is developing the first Climate Change Adaptation Strategy for a world city. Alex's role at the GLA is to raise the awareness and capacity of Londoners to respond to the impacts and opportunities of climate change. Previously, Alex worked for the Thames Gateway London Partnership (TGLP), where he was the Sustainability Manager.

Quick Facts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . · 8 number of barriers in place at the Thames Barrier [Environment Agency] · 45 sq miles London flood risk area [Environment Agency] · 68 Underground / DLR stations in the London flood risk area [Environment Agency] · 107 number of times the Thames Barrier has been closed [Environment Agency] · 1953 year of the floods that lead to the creation of the barrier [thamesweb.com] · 1982 year the Thames Barrier became operational [Environment Agency] · 2030 predicted year of major upgrade to the current system of defences [Environment Agency] · 1.25m people live/work below the Thames average high tide [Environment Agency] · £5m yearly maintenance costs of the Thames Barrier [Environment Agency] · £80b capital values of assets in the London flood risk area[Environment Agency]