Following their successful and impactful tenure as Co-Chairs of the Bristol Advisory Committee on Climate Change (BACCC), this month saw Jo House and Enda Hayes step down from their roles and announce Alice Venn and Ben Smith as new Co-Chairs, following an expression of interest process within the committee.
Jo House, Professor of Environmental Science and Policy at the University of Bristol, helped Bristol Climate & Nature Partnership establish the Committee back in 2019 and has been a Co-Chair since its inception – underpinning BACCC’s mission to help Bristol understand and accelerate progress towards its ambition to be a net zero and climate resilient city.
Enda Hayes, Director of Research and Enterprise and Professor of Air Quality & Carbon Management at UWE Bristol, joined as Co-Chair in 2023 and has played an integral role in motivating and enabling the committee to influence and impact the city’s climate and nature work.
As Co-Chairs Jo and Enda have brought incredible energy, commitment, fun and integrity to their leadership of the committee, whilst consistently championing a just transition and engaging with community-led approaches to climate action. Key BACCC actions during their tenure as Co-Chairs include:
- strengthening local links with the national Climate Change Committee;
- providing feedback on the Bristol City Council Climate Emergency Action Plan;
- reviewing and inputting into the ‘Climate Action Plan for Bristol’ – a document developed by the Transition Team with support from Bristol Climate & Nature Partnership, alongside 19 partner organisations. This has since been recognised by the European Commission, with Bristol receiving the EU Mission Label for Climate Neutral and Smart Cities based on its high-quality climate plans;
- strengthening the focus locally and regionally on measures to build climate resilience;
- contributing to two updates of Bristol’s One City Plan, convened workshops on local data needs and how the city can build resilience to climate change;
- contributing to the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority climate adaptation report, ‘The impact of Climate Change on the West of England’; and
- supporting local efforts to champion the Peoples Emergency Briefing by producing a ‘Fact Check’ and statement in response to the briefing, whilst continuing to work with the West of England Combined Authority to explore new mapping tools that will help to navigate regional climate risks around flooding, heat, people and urban environment.
BACCC are delighted that Enda and Jo will be staying on as members of the committee, with Jo remaining as an advisor to the new Co-Chairs for the next six months to support the transition.
New Co-Chairs, Alice Venn and Ben Smith, will take the helm from November 2026, leading BACCC’s ongoing work to support Bristol in achieving its climate targets whilst collaborating with a wide and diverse range of city stakeholders through the One City structures in the One City Mission to deliver a “climate resilient city, where everyone is empowered to act for climate and nature”.
Dr Alice Venn is a Senior Lecturer in Climate Law and Policy at the University of Bristol’s Law School with expertise in climate governance and just transition. Ben Smith is Associate Director for Climate Resilience at AtkinsRealis with expertise in climate risk management and adaptation.
“We are proud of BACCC’s achievements supporting Bristol’s climate efforts and providing the role of critical friend to the One City Boards. We’ll continue to stay involved in the committee and are pleased to be handing over the roles of Co-Chair to Alice and Ben who have been active members and bring strong experience and expertise. We would like to thank BACCC members, current and past, for their ambition, dedication and insights and importantly, we would like to thank Bristol Climate & Nature Partnership, especially Vicki Woolley and Reem Khreisheh, for their incredible support – BACCC would not function without it ” Enda Hayes and Jo House
“We’re honoured to be taking on the Co-Chair roles and would like to sincerely thank Jo and Enda for their dedication, support and leadership. They have played a significant role in establishing BACCC as a trusted and integral partner in both city and regional climate governance. We are looking forward to continuing to work with them, the wider Committee, and Bristol Climate & Nature Partnership for a fair transition to a carbon neutral and climate resilient Bristol.” Alice Venn and Ben Smith
Image shows BACCC members and invitees at the October 2026 meeting.
