Registration has officially opened for NI Water's 'Power of Water' event, set to take place early next month.

Supported by EY Northern Ireland, the free virtual event is open to individuals and organisations with an interest in tackling the climate emergency, featuring key note speeches from public, private and climate experts and a panel discussion made up of industry leaders. 

It will set out not just what NI Water believes is achievable, but how, through public and private organisations working in partnership and collaborating, Northern Ireland could become a world leader in the way it produces and uses energy in the low carbon era. 

Taking place on Wednesday 03 November, the event will coincide with COP26 in Glasgow.

Explaining more about the event, Sara Venning, CEO NI Water, said: "Individual organisations cannot work in isolation. Just as climate change does not respect national or institutional boundaries, neither should the response. We all have to innovate, collaborate and show the urgency needed to address the defining issue of our time.

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"The 'Power of Water' report, which will be released on the day, will describe how we have developed new ways of thinking about how NI Water uses energy, and how we can harness our natural assets to generate and store power so adding extra resilience to Northern Ireland's energy system - a crucial factor as we move away from our dependence on fossil fuel plants for security of supply.

"With the support of DfI and a number of other partners, NI Water has learnt a lot during the last few years about how we can respond to climate change. But our greatest potential, perhaps, is in using our assets as a catalyst for change across Northern Ireland's energy and transport networks as a whole.

"However, change will only happen if we all work together. The 'Power of Water' report is a prompt, but it is only a prompt. What happens next is what really matters. Let the conversation begin."

Michael Hall, Managing Partner, EY Northern Ireland added: "Now more than ever, sustainability is front of mind for businesses, consumers and governments the world over, as we all seek to reduce carbon emissions and change the way we think and behave when it comes to consuming products and services. The only way for us to tackle the climate emergency we are in is to look ahead to the future and develop innovative and creative solutions to the challenges we're facing and to meet our evolving energy needs, which is what the 'Power of Water' report aims to do.

"At EY, we're committed to reaching carbon negativity by the end of 2021, and to supporting businesses across the UK and Ireland on their own journeys towards reducing their climate impact, so we're delighted to support this important initiative and work towards building a better working world."

Register for NI Water's Power of Water event here.