The Hutton Series

Objective and background

James Hutton, ‘the father of modern geology', was the executor of Adam Smith's will and a frequent visitor to Panmure House, now restored at its historic location in Edinburgh's World Heritage Site by Edinburgh Business School at Heriot-Watt University.

The discussions held there, at the dawn of the industrial revolution, resonate strongly as we grapple with global energy transition more than two hundred years later.

As the world tries to avert environmental disaster by shifting to sustainable energy sources while recovering from a global pandemic, the Hutton Series on Climate Change aimed to recreate those ground-breaking discussions, virtually. These took place in the form of six sessions across 2020-21 and brought together a diverse cross-section of experts, business leaders, scientists, and concerned citizens in the service of one simple aim:

...to identify ten key priorities, innovations and actions to mitigate the climate crisis.

The series was designed to provide open discourse around energy, climate change and resource use and availability, in recognition of the increasing need for reasoned debate between industry, NGOs, government and the public. The report, and its ten key priorities and actions to mitigate the climate crisis, were published ahead of the COP26 summit in Glasgow in 2021.

All session recordings and reports can be viewed on the Panmure House website.

Please follow Panmure House on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook for details of the release of the report.