Venice International University and Alcantara are organizing the symposium "Climate 'How': How to Engage Society and Deploy Decarbonization," which will explore the question of how best to generate engagement with climate change issues across different levels of society. The symposium is supported by the World Bank Group’s Connect4Climate global partnership program.
Today, global climate change constitutes a very real threat to the livelihoods of people all across the world. Despite the importance of the topic, however, citizens seem distracted by nearer and more fearful urgencies, like social and personal security and employment. Moreover, their perceptions of the evolving local and global situation are in constant flux due to the booming availability of information—much of which is distorted, falsified, or presented in a misleading way.
During an intensive two-day symposium, world-class scientists, economists, academics, managers of top corporations, science writers, and governmental and non-governmental organizations will come together at Venice International University to discuss how to overcome misinformation and engage stakeholders throughout society on topics pertaining to climate change and decarbonization.
VIU’s TEN Program on Sustainability is increasingly focused on raising citizens’ awareness of concerns stemming from scientific research certain to have a real impact on their lives, including issues of climate change, public health, and food safety. TEN strives to broaden awareness in these subject areas through its activities in science communication, an invaluable catalyst for sustainable development.
This is the fifth edition of our Symposium, following on previous events also organized by Alcantara and Venice International University:
2018 Coping with Change: Global Warming and Decarbonization
2016 Sustainability and Corporate Value (in Tokyo in collaboration with Nikkei, and Waseda University.
2014 Sustainability and the New Automotive Value Chain
2015 The Automotive Ecosystem on the Global road to Sustainability, the Asian Perspective
The Symposium will be streamed live on the VIU YouTube Channel and via Facebook Live as well.
The Program
Thursday, February 7:
09.00 Registration and Welcome Coffee
09.30 Opening Session: "Climate How? Taking Climate Action to the Next Level"
- Umberto Vattani – President of Venice International University - Ambassador of the Italian Republic
- Andrea Boragno – Chairman and CEO of Alcantara S.p.A.
- Video from the 2018 Symposium Edition
09.45 Session 1: "How to Decarbonize: What's Happening Now, and What's Next on the Agenda?"
- Daniel Klingenfeld – Head of the Directors’ Staff at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK): "The IPCC Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C - What it means for us"
- Bjørn Kj. Haugland – Executive Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) at DNV GL Group: “The big picture of Energy transformation: status and prospects”
- Timothy Nixon – Managing Editor of Thomson Reuters Sustainability: “The steep climb ahead on transparency”
10.30 Session 2: "How Corporations Can Ramp Up Climate Action" – Part 1
- Heidi Huusko – Senior Manager, Environment and Climate at the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC): “The evolution of corporate climate action: towards greater ambition and urgency”
- Bjørn O. Sverdrup – Senior Vice President Sustainability at Equinor ASA: “Decarbonization of oil and gas”
- Yin Bo – Deputy Director of Europe Office, GEIDCO (Global Energy Interconnection Development and Cooperation Organization): “Global Energy Interconnection: Electrification and Decarbonization”
- Ralf Pfitzner – Vice President / Global Head of Sustainability at Volkswagen AG: “Volkswagen's contribution to the Paris agreement: our approach to decarbonization”
11.30 Coffee Break
11.50 Session 2: "How Corporations Can Ramp Up Climate Action" – Part 2
- Cara Smyth – GCNYC Vice President, Founder of the Fair Fashion Center: “Textile and fashion industry: how to decarbonize”
- Paul Jefferiss – Head of Policy at BP: “BP: Improving our products and creating new low carbon businesses”
- Henrik O. Madsen – Chairman of the Norwegian Research Council, Former President and CEO of DNV GL Group: “Opportunities from Oceans for Food Industry”
- Jérôme Schmitt – OGCI (Oil and Gas Climate Initiative) Executive Committee Chairman: “How Oil & Gas Industry can contribute to a carbon neutral journey”
- Hermann Pengg – Head of Project Management e-fuels at Audi AG: “Missing links in the GHG abatement process: systemic evaluation of flaws in legislation in transport sector”
13.10 Lunch
14.30 Session 3: "How Finance Can Help Win the Fight Against Climate Change"
- Giovanna Melandri – Founder and Chairman of the Human Foundation Do&Think Tank per l'Innovazione Sociale, Chairman of the MAXXI Foundation - National Museum of XXI Century Arts, Former Minister for Culture, and Youth and Sport of the Italian Republic: “Social Impact Investments”
- Gustav Martinsson – Professor in Financial Economics at Royal Institute of Technology (KTH): "How can the financial sector be a productive force in climate change mitigation? The role of public policy makers and private sector innovation"
- Rebecca Thomas – Associate at Arabesque: “Climate Change and Digital Solutions”
- Herman Bril – Director of Office of Investment Management at United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund: “How asset owners can accelerate decarbonization”
- Leo Burke – Professor – Director, Climate Investing Initiative at University of Notre Dame – Mendoza College of Business: “How to improve interaction between global investors and corporations”
- Georg Kell – Chairman of Arabesque, Founder and Former Director of the United Nations Global Compact: “Sustainable Finance and Corporate Climate Action”
16.00 Coffee Break
16.20 Session 4: "How Policymakers, Citizens and Consumers Can Drive Decarbonization"
- Connie Hedegaard – Chairman KR Foundation, Former EU Commissioner: “The role of policy makers”
- Alexander Voigt – Founder and CEO of GRIPS AG and LUMENION GmbH: “Policy makers and Innovation”
- Jessica Cheam – Managing Editor of Eco-Business, Journalist and Social Entrepreneur: “How to create engagement among Citizens”
- Maxim Titov – Professor – Head of Energy Policy Research Center (ENERPO) – European University at St. Petersburg: “Communication with civil society: case of Russian Arctic”
- Giulia C. Braga – Program Manager of The World Bank Groups' Connect4Climate (C4C) Program: “Advocacy and Campaigns to Drive Climate Engagement”: “Advocacy and Campaigns to Drive Climate Engagement”
- Simon A. Levin – James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Princeton University: “The social dimensions of accepting decarbonization”
18.00 Closing
Friday, February 8:
09.15 Opening
09.30 Breaking Session 1 – How to Create Engagement Across Sectors: Policymakers, Citizens, Finance and Corporations (Focus on Policymakers)
- Giovanna Melandri – Founder and Chairman of the Human Foundation Do&Think Tank per l'Innovazione Sociale, Chairman of the MAXXI Foundation - National Museum of XXI Century Arts, Former Minister for Culture, and Youth and Sport of the Italian Republic
- Connie Hedegaard – Chairman KR Foundation, Former EU Commissioner
- Hermann Pengg – Head of Project Management e-fuels at Audi AG
- Alexander Voigt – Founder and CEO of GRIPS AG and LUMENION GmbH
- Gustav Martinsson – Professor in Financial Economics at Royal Institute of Technology (KTH)
- Daniel Klingenfeld – Head of the Directors’ Staff at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK)
- Bjørn O. Sverdrup – Senior Vice President Sustainability at Equinor ASA
11.00 Coffee Break
11.20 Breaking Session 2 – How to Create Engagement Across Sectors: Policymakers, Citizens, Finance and Corporations (Focus on Finance and Corporations)
- Jérôme Schmitt – OGCI (Oil and Gas Climate Initiative) Executive Committee Chairman
- Bjørn Kj. Haugland – Executive Vice President and Chief Sustainability Office (CSO) at DNV GL Group
- Prof. Leo Burke – Professor - Director, Climate Investing Initiative at University of Notre Dame - Mendoza College of Business
- Rebecca Thomas – Associate at Arabesque
- Herman Bril – Director of Office of Investment Management at United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund
- Heidi Huusko – Senior Manager Environment and Climate at the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC)
- Yin Bo – Deputy Director of Europe Office, GEIDCO (Global Energy Interconnection Development and Cooperation Organization)
- Colin Price – Professor - Head of the Environmental Studies Department, The Porter School of the Environment and Earth Sciences, Tel Aviv University
13.00 Lunch
14.15 Breaking Session 3 – How to Create Engagement Across Sectors: Policymakers, Citizens, Finance and Corporations (Focus on Citizens)
- Jessica Cheam – Managing Editor of Eco-Business, Journalist and Social Entrepreneur
- Maxim Titov – Professor – Head of Energy Policy Research Center (ENERPO) – European University at St. Petersburg
- Giulia C. Braga – Program Manager of The World Bank Groups' Connect4Climate (C4C) Program
- Simon A. Levin – James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Princeton University
- Cara Smyth – GCNYC Vice President, Founder of the Fair Fashion Centre
- Ralf Pfitzner – Vice President / Global Head of Sustainability at Volkswagen AG
- Henrik O. Madsen – Chairman of the Norwegian Research Council, Former President and CEO of DNV GL Group
15.40 Coffee Break
16.00 Calls to Action from the Breaking Sessions
- Gabrielle Walker – Energy and Climate Change Strategist
16.20 Climate How: Conclusions and Engagement
- Andrea Boragno – Chairman and CEO of Alcantara S.p.A.
- Georg Kell – Chairman of Arabesque, Founder and Former Director of the United Nations Global Compact
- Umberto Vattani – President of Venice International University - Ambassador of the Italian Republic
16.50 End of Works
Alessandra Fornetti
Venice International University Isola di San Servolo 30133 Venice, Italy T +39 041 2719511 F +39 041 2719510 E alessandra.fornetti@univiu.org
Banner image courtesy of San Servolo Servizi.