Join us for a talk on global forests and the fight against deforestation, featuring an input by climate change specialist Sylvie Lemmet, who will then be joined for a conversation with Harley Mathieson and Stéphane Pailler.

Forests in the world are an incredible natural asset, but have been shrinking over time as a consequence of human pressure and, specifically, the need for food and shelter, combined with the use of the wood resource itself. The primary drivers of deforestation are therefore agriculture, urban pressure, and the sale of harvested timber. It is therefore these root causes that must be addressed if we are to preserve this asset and combat deforestation. Deforestation indeed generates greenhouse gas emissions and causes a loss of biodiversity, which is particularly rich in tropical forests.

All countries have acknowledged the importance of halting deforestation and during the climate COP26 in Glasgow in 2021, over 100 countries committed to end deforestation by 2030. Some tropical countries have clearly succeeded in curbing the trend of deforestation, whereas it remains, on the contrary, highly significant in others. This discussion withSylvie Lemmet, economist, specialist of climate change, energy and environment, will attempt to draw some lessons from more than 20 years of forest preservation and the international fight against deforestation.

Sylvie Lemmet was born in January 1959. She is a graduate of the HEC School of Management and the Paris Institute of Political Studies (Sciences Po), and she holds a Master in Public Administration from Harvard University. Ms Lemmet was appointed as an auditor at the French Court of Audit in April 2001 upon graduation from the French National School of Administration (ENA) (“Nelson Mandela” year), and was promoted to Special Adviser in 2004 and Chief Adviser in 2017. She was seconded from January 2007 to October 2013 as Director of the Technology, Industry and Economy Division of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). She was then Director of European and International Affairs at the French Ministry of the Environment, Energy and Marine Affairs until February 2017, when she returned to the Court of Audit. Ms Lemmet was a member of the French Data Protection Authority (CNIL) and its select formation between February 2019 and January 2021, and was appointed Deputy Secretary-General of the France Relance recovery plan in October 2020. Ms Lemmet has also been a member of the Climate and Sustainable Finance Committee of the Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Resolution (French supervisory and resolution authority) since October 2019.

Harley Mathieson works with TCV (The Conservation Volunteers), a UK charity that brings people together to create healthier, happier communities by caring for green spaces, improving biodiversity, and supporting wellbeing through practical environmental action. After a changing careers, Mathieson has been working as a Senior Project Officer with TCV for the last three years, working with communities and partner organisations on inclusive, practical programmes that use nature and conservation to support skills, health, and connection to place.

Stéphane Pailler is the Consul General and Director of the Institut français d’Écosse.