Coal: The Elephant in the Room

10 September 2009

John Ashton

John Ashton, Special Representative for Climate Change at the United Kingdom's Foreign and Commonwealth Office presented a public lecture called, Coal: The Elephant in the Room

Broad Topics: Asia and the Pacific

Sub-topics: Environment, Policy & Political Science, Resource Management

Areas: ANU College of Asia and the Pacific

In June 2006 John Ashton was appointed as the UK Foreign Secretary's Special Representative for Climate Change with the aim of supporting Ministers in delivering a step-change in the international response to climate change.  He has the personal title of Ambassador, reporting directly to the Foreign Secretary. John has played a key role in designing the United Kingdom's Foreign and Commonwealth Office's climate change network and strategy.

John has spent most of his career in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. He founded and led its Environment Policy Department, before moving outside government in 2002 and establishing E3G in 2004.

John has been continuously active in climate diplomacy in various capacities since 1997. He was involved in negotiating the EU package on climate change in spring 2007 and December 2008 - including funding for Carbon Capture and Storage across Europe. He helped negotiate the agreement in 2005 between the EU and China to demonstrate zero emission coal technology in China, and was closely involved in the EU's engagement with Russia over the Kyoto Protocol.

John played a key role in the first UN security debate on climate change in April 2007. He was a senior member of the UK negotiating team in the UN climate negotiations from 1998-2002.

A major theme of John's career has been China. He speaks Chinese. He was an adviser to Governor Chris Patten in Hong Kong from 1993-7. His first diplomatic assignment, from 1981-4, was as Science Attaché in the British Embassy in Beijing. He also has experience at high level on a wide range of European and global issues, including as a political officer in the British Embassy in Rome from 1988-93.