Finance Watch Conference on Sustainable Finance

On 6 December 2017, Finance Watch organised a half-day conference on accelerating the EU’s leadership in sustainable finance with the support of the European Investment Bank

Download the conference programme

Keynote from Oliver Guersent, Director General of DG FISMA, European Commission

 Keynote from Jean-Pascal van Ypersele, Professor of Environmental Sciences at Université catholique de Louvain – “The low carbon transition path”

Discussion panel: Getting a sustainable economy off the ground

What are the obstacles to carbon pricing? How are stranded assets affected? How do we get to a higher carbon price? What is missing from the EU’s ETS? What would a carbon border tax achieve? Can internal/shadow carbon pricing do the job? Success stories

• Pierre-Emmanuel Noel, Senior Banker, European Investment Bank
• Anthony Hobley, Chief Executive Officer, Carbon Tracker Initiative
• Dr Luca Taschini, LSE Grantham Institute and University of Verona
• Peter Sweatman, CEO of Climate Strategy

Moderator: Mireille Martini, Senior Research and Advocacy Officer, Finance Watch

Discussion panel: A just transition

The low carbon transition opens the path of energy for all; what is the upside potential for jobs and communities; the opportunity to challenge abuses of nature and local economies; what is the role of communities, government, pension funds, impact investors?

• Myriam Vander Stichele, Senior Researcher at SOMO, HLEG member  
• Andrea Baranes, President of Fondazione Finanza Etica
• Anne-Catherine Husson-Traore, CEO of Novethic, HLEG
• Sharan Burrow, General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC)

Moderator: Sophie Robinson-Tillett, Deputy Editor, Responsible Investor  

Discussion panel: Beyond the HLEG – what EU policy agenda?

What should the Commission do next? Green bond standards, green and brown prudential rules, fiduciary rules, ESG labelling, redirecting retail investment, updating EU institutions

• Paul Tang MEP (S&D, NL)
• Sven Giegold MEP (Greens, DE)
• Felicia Stanescu, Head of Financial Services Policy and International Affairs unit, DG FISMA, European Commission
• Sebastian Godinot, Economist, WWF European Policy Office 

Moderator:  James Vaccaro, Triodos // Replaced by Greg Ford, strategy and policy adviser, Finance Watch