Speakers

Peter Betts
Director of International Climate Change at the
Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC)

He has a long background in environmental issues: from 1994-1998 he was first secretary for environment at the UK's permanent Representative of the EU in Brussels, negotiating environmental legislation. Between 1998 and 2001 he was head of UK negotiations and domestic policy on climate change.

In 2001 he went to HM Treasury where he was head of social security spending and then of pensions and savings policy. From 2004-2005 he was Principal Private Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister. In 2005 he became the Director of Regional Economic Policy at the Department of Communities and Local Government and from 2006-2008 he was Director of Fire and Civil resilience in the same department. He began his current post in April 2008.

Peter joined the civil service in 1984 and undertook a number of posts including Private Secretary to the Minister for Housing and Planning and to the Minister for Local Government. He attended the Ecole Nationale d'Administration in Paris from 1991-1992.