Speakers for the motion:

Eric Bettelheim: A commercial lawyer and co-editor and contributor to a seminal publication by The Royal Society on carbon sequestration. He is Executive Chairman of Sustainable Forestry Management, a leading company in ethical and sustainable forest land-use, taking advantage of the new markets for environmental services, particularly carbon dioxide, with a commitment to reducing poverty and the destruction of natural habitats in the developing world.

Anatole Kaletsky: One of the country’s leading commentators on economics, he was formerly Economics Editor and is now an Associate Editor of The Times. He has won many awards for his financial and political journalism. Before joining The Times, he worked for 12 years on the FT.

The Rt Hon Oliver Letwin: MP Conservative MP for West Dorset. His former appointments include Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer and Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs. Since December 2005, he has been the Chairman of the Party’s Policy Review and Chairman of the Conservative Research Department.

Speakers against the motion:

Lord Lawson: Chancellor of the Exchequer (1983-89) and Member of the Economic Affairs Committee of the House of Lords, which in July 2005 produced a unanimous report on the economics of climate change. Delivered a lecture for the Centre for Policy Studies in November 2006 entitled ‘The Economics and Politics of Climate Change – An Appeal to Reason’.

David Rieff: An American writer and policy analyst. He has served as a consultant for several humanitarian organisations and written widely on war, human rights and humanitarian assistance to Africa. He is the author of five books including ‘Slaughterhouse: Bosnia’ and ‘The Failure of The West’.

Frances Cairncross: Rector of Exeter College, Oxford. Formerly on the staff of The Economist and past President of the British Association for the Advancement of Science. Her books include ‘The Company of the Future’ (2002). Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and an Honorary Member of the BA.

The debate will be chaired by Andrew Neil Publisher, editor, writer, broadcaster and business consultant on media matters. He is Publisher of Press Holdings, owners of The Business in London and The Scotsman in Edinburgh. He also presents BBC TV’s ‘Daily Politics’ and ‘This Week’. During his career, he has been editor of The Sunday Times and UK Editor of The Economist.

Registration required:

Yes

Free:

No