Climate Finance Week Ireland 2021 will kick off with AIB's 5th annual Sustainability Conference. Given the more frequent extreme weather events and stern warning provided in the IPCC Climate Report the focus of the event will be how we as a society can respond to the challenge of climate change and work together to Beat the Climate Deadline.
In the afternoon the Department of Finance, Sustainable Finance Ireland and the UN-convened Financial Centres for Sustainability will launch Ireland's first national Sustainable Finance Roadmap.
The launch will be followed by an afternoon event focusing on financing biodiversity.
James Cameron, is an acclaimed film-maker, explorer and environmental advocate. As director, writer and producer he is responsible for some of the most memorable films of the past three decades: THE TERMINATOR, ALIENS, THE ABYSS, TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY, TRUE LIES, TITANIC, and AVATAR.
For 10 years AVATAR was the highest grossing film in history with over $2.7 billion in global box office, beating the previous record holder, Cameron’s own film TITANIC, which held that record for 12 years. Cameron's films have also earned numerous nominations and awards, most notably TITANIC's 14 Academy Award nominations (tied for the record) and 11 Oscars (also a record), including Cameron's own 3 Oscars for Best Picture, Best Direction and Best Editing. Cameron also won the DGA Award for directing Titanic, in 1998. Both TITANIC and AVATAR won the Golden Globe for Best Director and Best Picture. AVATAR was nominated for 9 Academy Awards and won 3.
Over the last 20 years Cameron developed cutting edge 3D camera systems for movies and documentaries, as well as for broadcast sports and special events. He was at the vanguard of the 3D renaissance that has transformed the movie industry in recent years.
Avatar was shot with cameras developed by Cameron’s company. He has also developed unprecedented deep ocean exploration vehicles, lighting and 3D camera equipment. Cameron has led eight deep ocean expeditions from 1995 to 2012, including three to the Titanic wreck. He has dived that wreck 33 times, and spent over a hundred hours piloting small remotely operated vehicles of his own design inside the wreck, to create an archeological survey the interior. His research has led to a definitive understanding of the forensics of the Titanic’s sinking.
Other expeditions included exploration of the German battleship Bismarck in 2002, and hydrothermal vents in the Atlantic, Pacific and Sea of Cortez in 2002 and 2003. He has spent over 3000 hours underwater, and made 75 deep submersible dives. He is a member of the Deep Submersible Pilots Association.
In 2012, Cameron led his eighth deep ocean expedition to some of the deepest trenches in the world. On March 26, 2012, he set the world’s solo deep diving record of 35,787’ in the Challenger Deep in a vehicle of his own design.
Cameron is a National Geographic Explorer in Residence, and recipient of their most prestigious award, the Hubbard Medal, as well as the Explorer’s Club medal for Explorer of the Year.
Cameron is also passionately involved in sustainability, having founded the Avatar Alliance Foundation to take action on climate change, deforestation, indigenous rights, ocean conservation and sustainable agriculture. The Avatar sequels production is the first entirely vegan-catered motion picture set, for environmental reasons, and is dedicated to being as green and sustainable as possible.
James and Suzy Amis Cameron, both environmental vegans, are the founders and majority owners of Verdient, a pea protein extraction facility located in Saskatchewan. They operate organic farms in both
Canada and New Zealand.
Cameron has completed two years of principal capture on Avatar 2, 3 and 4, and is currently shooting live action for those films in New Zealand.
Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland, a medical doctor, was Norway’s first female Prime Minister, serving a total of ten years as head of government between 1981 and 1996. She chaired the World Commission on Environment and Development – known as the Brundtland Commission – which articulated the principle of sustainable development for the first time at a global level. She was Director-General of the World Health Organization from 1998 to 2003, UN Special Envoy for Climate Change from 2007 to 2010 and, from 2011 to 2012, was a member of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Global Sustainability Panel. Gro Harlem Brundtland is a member of The Elders, an independent group of global leaders founded by Nelson Mandela in 2007, who work together for peace, justice and human rights.
Prof. Scott Galloway, is Professor of Marketing at NYU’s Stern School of Business and a serial entrepreneur. In 2012, he was named one of the world’s best business professors by Poets & Quants. He has founded nine companies, including Prophet, Red Envelope, L2, and Section4. He is the New York Times bestselling author of The Four, The Algebra of Happiness, and most recently, Post Corona: From Crisis to Opportunity. He has served on the boards of directors of The New York Times Company, Urban Outfitters, and Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. His Prof G and Pivot podcasts, No Mercy / No Malice blog, and Prof G YouTube channel reach millions. In 2020, Adweek named Pivot Business Podcast of the Year.
Prof. Dr. Johan Rockström, is Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and Professor in Earth System Science at the University of Potsdam.
Rockström gained international recognition with the development of the Planetary Boundaries framework, which has since become a standard of sustainability science. He is deeply involved in research activities covering a range of topics related to the Earth System and global sustainability in the Anthropocene, with the overarching research question: “What is the safe operating space for Humanity's future on Earth, and which sustainable transformations that can take us there?” Rockström’s research creates considerable impact. For example, he received the prestigious European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Grant and is ranked as one of the most influential and most-cited scientists in the world by Clarivate Analytics.
In addition to his research endeavours, which have been widely used to guide policy, Rockström provides strategic scientific guidance as a member of the European Commission’s Expert Group ‘Mission Board for Adaptation to Climate Change, including Societal Transformation’ and the ‘Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences’. He regularly acts as an advisor to high-level international meetings and organisations, such as the World Economic Forum (WEF), the General Assembly of the United Nations (UNGA), the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conferences (UNFCCC). Moreover, he is the Chief Scientist of Conservation International, as well as chairing the advisory board for the EAT Initiative on Health, Food and Sustainability, the Earth League, and Future Earth (co-chair) and the Earth Commission.
Rockström’s work has been recognized with accolades, the most recent of which include the Prince Albert II of Monaco Climate Change Award (2020), the Hillary Laureate by the Hillary Institute of International Leadership (2017), the French distinction Knight of the Legion of Honour (2016), the German Environmental Award (2015) and the International Cosmos Prize (2015). Before becoming Director of the Potsdam Institute of Climate Impact Research, Rockström founded the Stockholm Resilience Centre at Stockholm University and was Executive Director at the Stockholm Environment Institute. He obtained a Master of Science (MSc) at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, a Diplôme d’Agronomie Approfondie (DAA) at Institut National Agronomique Paris-Grignon, a Licentiate of Philosophy (PhLic) at Stockholm University and completed a doctorate (PhD) in Natural Resources Management at Stockholm University.
Colin Hunt, was appointed Chief Executive Officer of AIB and an Executive Director on the AIB Board in March 2019. He joined AIB in August 2016 as Managing Director, Wholesale, Institutional & Corporate Banking Division. Prior to joining AIB, he was Managing Director at Macquarie Capital where he led the development of its business in Ireland. Previously, he was a Special Policy Adviser at the Departments of Transport and Finance, Research Director and Chief Economist at Goodbody Stockbrokers, Head of Trading Research and Senior Economist at Bank of Ireland Group Treasury and a country risk analyst at NatWest. He has a Phd in Economics from Trinity College, Dublin and degrees in Commerce & Economics from University College, Cork. He served as a Non-Executive Director of Aer Lingus Group plc from 2008 to 2014. Colin is a Director of the Ireland Funds, Ireland Chapter and Non-Executive Director and President 2021/2022 of the Institute of Bankers in Ireland.
Dearbhail McDonald, is an award-winning Journalist, Author and Broadcaster.
Dearbhail presented ‘Sunday with Dearbhail’ on BBC Radio Ulster. The show brought an in-depth look at current affairs, interviews, discussions and analysis, including an essential guide to the Sunday papers.
A global Eisenhower Fellow, the former Group Business Editor of Independent News And Media is a recipient of the Mary Cummins Award for Women of Outstanding Achievement in Media. Her recent documentary (‘Fertility Shock’, RTE) addressed the future of work, diverse workforces and the impact of fertility trends on economic growth. Dearbhail has also recently began writing for IMAGE Magazine as part of their IMAGE Business Club ‘Championing Visionary Women’.
President of the strategic committee of the Centre Cultural Irlandais in Paris, where she also holds the position of secretary of the board of the Foundation Irlandaise, the Newry born writer served a seven-year terms as a member of the board of Fighting Words, Ireland’s national creative writing centre for children and young adults.
The author of ‘Bust: How the Courts Exposed the Rotten Heart of the Irish Economy’ (Penguin), Dearbhail has also served on the Board of the St Stephen’s Green Trust and the External Advisory Board of Maynooth University Department of Law.
Dearbhail received an inaugural Dublin City University Special Alumni Achievement Award for her contribution to public affairs journalism and is an Irish Tatler Media Woman of the Year.Dearbhail holds an LL.B (Law) from Trinity College Dublin as well as a Masters Degree in Journalism from Dublin City University.
Erin was recently appointed Head of Sustainability for HSBC Asset Management and is responsible for the delivery of our sustainability business and product strategy, and the transition to sustainable investing across all parts of our business. She joined HSBC in 2010 and has worked in a number of roles, including Interim Head of Institutional Client Business, Global Head of Fixed Income Product and EMEA Head of Product Development. She has also led strategic business initiatives including the development of a UK Master Trust business and Asset Management’s firm-wide Responsible Investment Initiative. Erin currently serves as Chair of the HSBC Global Liquidity Funds Board and a Director of a several internal and external corporate boards. She has over 25 years of asset management industry experience, with Fixed Income portfolio management and business management roles for Wells Fargo Asset Management, Aegon Asset Management, Lehman Brothers and Neuberger Berman. Erin is a CFA Charterholder, past-President of the CFA Society NC and holds a BA in Economics from Davidson College in North Carolina.
Mr. Prajwal Baral is a sustainable finance and clean technology financing specialist with experience consulting for the likes of the World Bank Group (WBG), DBS Bank, the UNEP Inquiry into the Design of a Sustainable Financial System, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), C40 Cities Finance Facility, the World Trade Organization (WTO) and several other public/private institutions in Asia, Europe, and the Americas. He was the key consultant in revamping technology classification of WIPO GREEN, an interactive marketplace initiated by the World Intellectual Property Organization (Switzerland) that matches owners of new technologies with individuals or companies seeking to commercialize, license or otherwise distribute a green technology. He was later headhunted by Korea Technology Finance Corporation (S Korea) as the first non-Korean hire in its history of 30 years to set up a financing facility for climate technologies, backed by a tailored technology rating and valuation system. In 2017, he was headhunted by the Development Bank of Singapore (DBS) to assess green financing opportunities, stocks and flows in 10 ASEAN countries (the first quantification of green finance opportunities across the region). He was later sourced by the UNEP Inquiry to conduct a similar exercise in Argentina and Nigeria with a focus on sustainable finance. At the Inquiry, as a Senior Advisor, he also led a technical report on Market Dynamics for the Central Banks and Supervisors Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS) under its workstream on scaling up green finance. He is a Member of the Joint NGFS-INSPIRE Study Group on Biodiversity and Financial Stability. At the UN convened Sustainable Insurance Forum, he recently led an initial scoping study to assess financial risks of nature-related loss in the global insurance industry. He also consults for the World Bank Group in helping its clients design and develop carbon pricing instruments. In addition, he also serves as a transaction advisor to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) - advancing renewable energy projects (solar, wind, hydro, biomass) towards financial closure. Mr. Baral has an MSc from the University of Oxford, where he was Sir Walter Raleigh Scholar and Boardman Scholar.
He leads our firm’s stewardship activities in the region, including direct corporate engagement and proxy voting, working with policymakers on key issues relating to sustainable finance and investment, and representing BNPP AM in key investor ESG networks. Adam joined us in 2018 and is based in New York.
Prior to joining us, Adam was Managing Director of Corporate Engagement at Domini Impact Investments. During his 20 years at Domini he built a corporate engagement programme focused on improving the ESG performance of major US corporations, as well as developing Domini’s public policy advocacy programme and proxy voting policies.
He has a wealth of experience in a broad range of ESG issues, including climate change, deforestation, labour standards, human rights and supply chain management. He has been an active member of a wide variety of ESG networks and organisations, and has been instrumental in helping companies to evolve their corporate practices in key areas.
Adam served on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Investor Advisory Committee, and is a founder of the Global Network Initiative, a multi-stakeholder organization addressing threats to freedom of expression and privacy rights in the ICT sector. He currently serves on the Human Rights Advisory Committee of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, and the steering committee of the Investor Alliance for Human Rights. He was a member of the Eminent Persons Group that oversaw development of the UN Guiding Principles Reporting Framework. In 2008, he was named to the Directorship 100, Directorship magazine’s listing of the most influential people on corporate governance and in the boardroom. He is a frequent speaker and commentator on sustainable investing and corporate accountability.
Adam began his career as a Litigation Associate at New York law firm Cahill, Gordon & Reindel and has over 20 years of experience. He holds a B.A. in political science from the University of Pennsylvania and a J.D. from Columbia Law School.
Mr Cox has significant board experience and is currently the Chairman of the Public Interest Committee for KPMG Ireland, a member of the Appointment Advisory Committee for the European Investment Bank, Chairman of Supernode Ltd, a non-executive director of Appian Asset Management Ltd, non-executive director of Gore Street Energy Storage Fund and a non-executive director Ecocem Ltd. He also sits on the Boards of various think tanks and not-for- profit organisations, including as a Senior Fellow and Board Member of the Institute for International and European Affairs, Ireland. He was formerly the President of the European Parliament from 2002 – 2004, having been a Member of the European Parliament for Munster, Ireland from 1989 to 2004 and is now the European Coordinator for the Scandinavian- Mediterranean TEN-T Core Network Corridor, appointed by the European Commission. He has been bestowed National Honours by Presidents of Austria, Bulgaria, Estonia, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania and Romania, and is a Commander of the Legion of Honour, France. He is a graduate of Trinity College, Dublin and holds Honorary Doctorates from Trinity College Dublin, the National University of Ireland, the University of Limerick, the Open University and the American College Dublin.
Paul Healy, has operated at an executive level in commercial environments for over 20 years. His broad areas of expertise include: Enterprise and Labour Market Policy, Human Resource Development, Public Affairs and Corporate Governance. Paul is a member of the National Skills Council, National Training Fund Advisory Group, EU Commission Skills for Industry Policy Group and the European Digital SME Alliance. He also serves on the Skillnet Ireland Board (ex officio).
Paul qualified as an Economist and holds an MBA from Dublin City University. He is an adjunct lecturer at post-graduate level in field of Human Resources and is a respected commentator in the arena of workforce development and talent.
Elena Almeida is a Policy Analyst at the LSE Grantham Research Institute, specialising in biodiversity and central banking. She has been supporting the NGFS-INSPIRE Biodiversity and Financial Stability project, managing and co-authoring the report “Building the Case: Biodiversity and Financial Stability”. Previously, Elena led the UK Government’s ASEAN Low Carbon Energy programme focussing on green finance in Malaysia, notably collaborating with Capital Markets Malaysia to establish the Malaysian Sustainable Finance Initiative and partnering with the Joint Committee on Climate Change (JC3) to deliver the JC3 Conference 2021. Elena started her career as an associate economist at the Central Bank of Malaysia, where she was part of the Monetary Policy Department. Elena holds degrees in Economics from the University of Sussex and International Management from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Mary O’Dea is Chief Executive of IOB. IOB is a recognised college of UCD, and a professional network of 33,400 members who work across the financial services sector. Mary joined IOB in April 2018 from the Central Bank of Ireland where she was Director of Securities and Markets Supervision. Prior to that she spent six years in Washington DC, first as Alternative Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund and then as Ireland’s representative at the World Bank. Mary previously held several Director roles with the Central Bank of Ireland, including Director of Financial Operations and Consumer Director. In 2009, she was Acting Chief Executive of the Financial Regulator. Mary is a Non-Executive Director of Euronext Dublin and CC&G (a multi- asset clearing house based in Italy) and a member of the Governing Authority of University College Dublin (UCD). Mary has Masters Qualifications in Economics, Treasury & Investment Management, and Business and Executive Coaching.
As action 1 of the 2021 Ireland for Finance Action Plan, “Building on Resilience” the development of Irelands Sustainable Finance Roadmap signifies government’s commitment to advancing Ireland’s sustainable finance agenda. Ireland's ambition is to be a leader in this space by 2025.
Working with over 50 key stakeholder organisations across Ireland's financial services industry, Sustainable Finance Ireland and Skillnet Ireland, in collaboration with the Department of Finance led the development of the roadmap over a six-month period, culminating in the launch at Climate Finance Week Ireland 2021.
The roadmap is a key milestone in our sustainable finance journey as a nation. Built as a living document to evolve and guide Irish sustainable finance activities in the context of the European Green Deal and the Renewed Strategy for Financing the Transition to a Sustainable Economy, for the coming years.
In association with Department of Finance, UN Convened FC4S and Sustainable Finance Ireland. Supported by Skillnet Ireland.
Speakers:
Given the seriousness of the biodiversity crisis and forthcoming Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, hear how asset managers are taking steps to integrate biodiversity criteria into their asset management strategies. This session will also provide an overview on initiatives aiming to provide asset owners and asset managers with frameworks, information, and groups through which to engage have made significant progress over the last year, including the Task Force on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD).
Organised in association with the TFND and the UN-convened Financial Centres for Sustainability. Supported by the Sustainable Finance Skillnet.
Many thanks for registering, you will receive an email confirmation, calendar reminder and updates closer to the event.