ICE's first female president promised to put civil engineers at the heart of the debate over how to tackle climate change during her inaugral address yesterday.

Speaking at One Great George Street yesterday, Venables said global warming was the biggest challenge currently facing engineers.

"Action must be taken now if we are to have any hope of meeting our targets in 2050, and investment must continue despite the current financial problems," she said.

Venables, the first woman to lead ICE in its in its 190 year history, also pledged to use the platform of her presidency to focus on diversity within the profession.

"Considering I was only the 16th woman to become a Chartered Member of the ICE and the 12th to become a Fellow, it's not surprising there's never been a women president [before now]," she said.

"ICE currently has only 8% female membership across all grades, so clearly there is much to be done to get more women into civil engineering. And it's not just about women. If we are to truly encourage diversity we must also look at the proportion of ethnic minorities and disabled workers and recruit from the whole pool to get the best talent."