In advance of COP26 in November, hear updates from the COP26 leadership team on the critical role the financial system will play in achieving Net Zero by 2050.
The day is built on COP26’s 4 Private Finance pillars and events will focus on climate related Reporting, Risk Management, Mobilising the trillions needed from public and private sectors, and realising the financial Returns on the global transition to Net Zero.
This day is Supported by Climate Ready.
Brian Hayes, studied at Trinity College, Dublin and at St Patrick’s College Maynooth. Brian served as a member of both houses of the Irish Parliament from 1996 to 2014. In 2011 he was appointed as Minister of State at the Department of Finance. During his time as Minister of State, Brian attended Eurogroup, ECOFIN and Budgetary. Council meetings on behalf of the Irish Government. He also led on the issues of procurement and public sector reform. Following his election to the European Parliament in May 2014 Brian was appointed to the European Parliaments Economic & Monetary Affairs (ECON) Committee, and also elected as Vice President of ECON. He was the Vice Coordinator of Econ for the European People’s Party. Brian was the European Parliaments rapporteur for the IORPS II Directive and shadow rapporteur for the Money Market Funds regulation and the Pan European Pension Proposal (PEPP). He also worked on the EPs first ever report on Fintech and on the subject of Third Country Equivalence. Brian now leads the bpfi which is the voice of the Irish banking, payments and fintec industry in Ireland. As CEO he is acutely aware of the challenges facing the retail banking sector in the post banking union environment - challenges of capital capture, return on equity and investment in new tech. Bpfi advocates across the FS landscape and especially in the areas of digital transition, sustainable finance and anti fraud/AML related agendas. BPFI also leads on industry non competitive collaboration. Ireland as a euro zone country has significant SSM banking operations so much of the Bpfi work is directly connected to positively influencing what’s happening in the EU across its membership of the EBF.
Laura Quinn is a Managing Director and Head of Primary Markets, Laura is responsible for the origination and syndication of all fixed income products in multiple currency markets. She focuses on the development and growth of existing and new client relationships across supranational, agency, financial and corporate issuers.Laura has over 20 years experience in Capital Markets. She spent six years at The Royal Bank of Canada in their Fixed Income Origination team before joining TD Securities in 2006. After spending most of her career in London, she re-located to Dublin in early 2020 and currently runs the Origination and Syndication business for TD Securities. In this role, she serves TD Securities’ clients in the EU27.Laura holds a first class honours master’s degree in economics, as well as a bachelor’s degree in economics and Italian with first-class honours, both from University College Cork in Ireland.
David Carlin leads the TCFD and climate risk program for UNEP Finance Initiative. He currently is running a pilot for nearly 50 global banks and investors on topics of climate scenarios, climate risk assessments, and climate governance. He is also a contributor to Forbes, where he writes about climate change and leadership.
Prior to joining UNEP FI, he worked as a senior manager in Risk and Public Policy for Oliver Wyman Consulting and in Model Risk Management for PNC Bank. His background is in quantitative modeling and decision science.
He conducted research in financial decision-making at Carnegie Mellon University and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Williams College
Dr. Yue (Nina) Chen is the first-ever Director of Sustainability and Climate Initiatives at the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS). As part of the executive team, Nina is charged with developing the Department’s portfolio of policy initiatives involving sustainability, green financing, and climate mitigation. Under her leadership, DFS became the first U.S. financial regulator to establish a holistic set of expectations for banks and insurers to integrate the financial risks from climate change into corporate governance, business strategies, risk management, and disclosure. Nina also serves as the Vice-Chair of the Climate Risk Steering Group at the International Association of Insurance Supervisors.
Before joining DFS, Nina was the Nature Conservancy’s Director of Conservation Investments in New Jersey then New York. In this role she developed innovative conservation finance programs, advised cities on attracting private capital to accelerate and scale up conservation impacts, and led urban water resilience initiatives.
Nina’s career in finance spanned a wide range of areas, including sovereign bonds, interest rates derivatives, mortgages, and structured credit products, at Goldman Sachs and Royal Bank of Canada, among others.
Nina received her B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Tsinghua University, Beijing, China, her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a Certificate in Conservation and Environmental Sustainability from Columbia University.
Stéphane Boujnah is CEO and Chairman of the Managing Board of Euronext N.V.
Before joining Euronext, Stéphane Boujnah was Head of Santander Global Banking and Markets for continental Europe. From 2005 to 2010, he was Managing Director at Deutsche Bank responsible for the development of the investment banking operations in France. Previously he founded KM5 Capital, an advisory company specialised in equity raising and M&A advice for venture capital funds and innovative technology companies.
From 2000 to 2002, he was Director of the European M&A team of Credit Suisse First Boston Technology Group in Palo Alto and London. From 1997 to 1999, Stéphane Boujnah was senior adviser to the French Minister for Economy, Finance and Industry, Dominique Strauss-Kahn.
He started his carrier in 1991 as a business lawyer at Freshfields. He graduated from the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris. He holds a Master degree and a DEA in Law from La Sorbonne Paris, a LLM in Law from the University of Kent, and a MBA from Insead.
Stéphane Boujnah was a member of the Commission pour la Liberation de la Croissance Française established by the then President Nicolas Sarkozy in 2007. He is founder and Vice-President of the Board of the think tank En Temps Réel and President of the Board of directors of Accentus and Insula Orchestra.
William Harding is the Head of Implementation at the UN-convened Sustainable Insurance Forum (SIF). Prior to his appointment to the SIF Secretariat in 2021, William worked in the Climate Risk team of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA). William joined APRA in 2017 as a member of the Superannuation Policy team before moving to the Insurance Policy team, where he contributed to a wide range of prudential and regulatory issues, including implementing the recommendations of the Australian Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry. During his time in APRA, William supported Executive Board member, Geoff Summerhayes in his role as Chairman of UN-convened SIF. In 2019, William was seconded to the Bank for International Settlements as a Financial Stability Institute Fellow. William holds a Bachelor of Laws (Hons).
Sheri is the Head of AXA’s Group Risk Management (GRM) P&C Climate & Sustainability. As the dedicated support to AXA’s chairmanship of the Net Zero Insurance Alliance, Sheri is managing the alliance activities alongside the UNEP secretariat. In less than a year the alliance has announced their commitments, joined the Race to Zero, and began a metrics development collaboration with the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF) – with more underway! As a member of AXA’s Group Risk Management Team, and previously at AXA’s commercial carrier AXA XL, Sheri is also responsible for bringing the net zero objectives to the underwriting, risk consulting, claims, and other business teams. A seasoned professional in risk consultancy, Sheri is a strong advocate for client engagement in the efforts for climate transition, and will be leading efforts for the development of evaluation and mitigation solutions for real economy transition plan risks.Sheri’s insurance career began in the life business, crafting life and health solutions for commercial clients of AIG in New York and Tokyo. She later moved over to commercial property and casualty at AIG, building a risk consulting and client engagement practice over 13 years in Asia, based in Beijing and Hong Kong. Upon joining AXA XL, a division of AXA, in 2019 Sheri returned to the New York area and took on her current role in AXA GRM earlier this year.Sheri holds an MIM from Thunderbird School of Global Management, an MBA from the University of Cincinnati, and a BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Florida. She is active in promoting engineering studies for girls in her community and mentoring women in the insurance risk profession.
Dublin-based Kasper Elmgreen CFA is Head of Equities and oversees the equities business line at Amundi. The business line spans teams in seven countries with expertise covering actively managed Global, European and Japanese equities as well as convexity solutions (volatility, protected equity and convertible bonds).He joined Amundi from Nordea Asset Management in Copenhagen where he had been Head of Fundamental Equities since 2014 with responsibility for restructuring the investment capabilities. Prior to this, he worked at Bankinvest Asset Management for 10 years in various portfolio management roles including Lead Portfolio Manager for an Emerging Europe equity strategy and was part of the Global Investment Board. Kasper became Head of Equities in 2010.Kasper is a CFA Charterholder. He graduated from Copenhagen Business School in 2005 with a Master of Science in Applied Economics and Finance and also holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Bath, obtained in 2003.
Amundi – a pioneer in responsible investing - is Europe’s largest asset manager and in the top 10 globally with almost €1.8 trillion AuM. It has some 4,800 employees across 36 countries and 100 million clients globally. Morningstar ranks Amundi as the Number 1 Asset Manager by Article 8 and 9 Fund Assets under The Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SDFR). SFDR, which came into effect on March 10 2021, is a cornerstone of the European Commission’s Action Plan on Sustainable Finance.
Karl is currently the energy lead in the COP26 Climate Action Champion team, where he promotes greater action on climate change within the energy sector. Karl started his career as a diplomat in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, specialising in climate change and economic diplomacy. This included co-ordinating a campaign on the economic and business case for climate change action and three years as Head of Climate Change and Economic Affairs at the British Embassy in Chile. Prior to joining the Champions team, he was a Senior Commercial Manager in the Asset Management department of Ørsted, the world’s largest offshore wind developer and operator. He holds degrees in Economics and Management from the University of Cambridge and Sustainable Energy Systems from the University of Edinburgh.
Laura Heuston, has spent most of her career working with corporates and asset managers in renewable energy and energy efficiency finance, advising on transaction structures for fundraising and M&A transactions. A chartered accountant and tax consultant, she has since pivoted to focus fully on sustainable finance, a broad topic that is increasingly on the agenda of policymakers, regulators, investors and financial services firms across investment, banking and insurance.
A leading expert in her field, she has in-depth knowledge of the global sustainable finance landscape. She advises, speaks and writes on a broad range of sustainable business and finance topics, with a particular specialism in EU sustainable finance policy, ESG, climate-related financial risk and opportunity, responsible investment and energy efficiency finance.
Laura previously worked with KPMG, Airtricity, and Sustainable Nation Ireland.
Dr. Tanya Harrington is a public policy and regulatory affairs professional with over 20 years’ experience in helping organisations drive the effectiveness and performance of their policy-focused teams. Tanya currently serves as An Post’s Chief Regulatory Affairs Officer, leading the development of the Company’s comprehensive and integrated regulatory strategy and leading An Post’s engagement with government and regulatory authorities and stakeholders at international, European and domestic levels.
Before joining An Post, Tanya spent six years in consultancy, advising a range of Ireland’s largest companies on matters of public policy, government affairs and economic regulation across a range of economically regulated sectors. Prior to her consulting work, Tanya was Director of the NTR Foundation, the corporate foundation of NTR plc - a leading investor and asset manager of renewable energy projects, with a specific focus on wind energy.
These positions built on Tanya’s considerable experience of public policy formation, developed through her work as Ministerial Advisor at the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources and the Department of Transport. In her early career, Tanya was Head of Energy Policy at business representative group Ibec, a policy analyst at the Institute of International and European Affairs, and researcher at the European Commission’s Directorate General for Trade in Brussels.
Tanya holds a BA (Hons.) in German and History from University College Dublin, and an MSSc. in European Integration and a Doctorate in Governance, both awarded by Queen’s University Belfast.
Vanessa recently joined a Temporis backed Offshore Wind Development Platform as Director of Offshore. Vanessa joins from Ørsted, a world leader in offshore wind, where she was the Head of Asset Management at Hornsea One, the largest offshore wind farm in the world (1,218MW). Vanessa has over 10 years’ experience in the offshore wind sector encompassing 6 offshore projects in the UK including Hornsea 1, Burbo Bank Extension, Walney Extension, Barrow, Burbo Bank and Outer Solway. She has held senior management positions across all stages of the offshore wind cycle, from early-stage development, implementation and execution to project construction and operations.
Vanessa holds an MSc Environmental Technology from Imperial College and BA in Economics from Trinity College Dublin.
Paul Saunders is Senior Investment Director and Head of Climate and Venture Capital with the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF), Ireland’s €9bn Sovereign Development Fund. Paul leads ISIF’s Climate investment agenda, where ISIF is targeting an investment programme of €1bn over the next 5 years, focused on investments that will catalyse the transition to Net Zero across the Irish economy.Paul has a background in the energy sector and started his career with Shell International in the Netherlands, working on major development projects globally. He then moved into the world of sustainable investing, working with NTR on a range of renewable energy investments. Paul has previously worked as a consultant with McKinsey & Co. in Dublin and London, and as Head of Innovation with An Post.Paul holds a Ph.D. in Earthquake Physics from Cambridge University, U.K., an MBA from INSEAD, France, and is an IoD qualified Company Director.
Séamus joined Macquarie Capital in 2016 and is responsible for the commercial and technical aspects of the Green Investment Group’s offshore wind equity and advisory transactions. He was a member of the Macquarie deal team that acquired the Green Investment Bank in 2017 and on completion of that transaction relocated to the GIG’s Headquarters in Edinburgh to lead their European offshore wind development activities with a particular focus on ScotWind. Prior to joining the GIG Séamus spent an 8 Year period with the utility SSE. Whilst at SSE he was the Ireland Offshore Wind manager leading the development of the Arklow bank Windfarm and subsequently was the commercial lead during the construction phase of the Greater Gabbard Offshore Windfarm. At the time this was the world’s largest offshore windfarm. After completing Greater Gabbard Séamus was a key member of the team that brought Scotland’s first commercial scale offshore windfarm - Beatrice to Financial close. His early career was in the sub-sea sector of the Oil & Gas industry and having transitioned from that industry into renewables he remains passionate about continuing to deliver the energy transition at pace.
Butch Bacani leads UN Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Principles for Sustainable Insurance Initiative (PSI), the largest collaboration between the UN and the insurance industry. Endorsed by the UN Secretary-General and insurance industry CEOs, the PSI is a global framework and initiative for the industry to address sustainability issues—as risk managers, insurers and investors—and to build resilient, inclusive and sustainable communities and economies on a healthy planet.
Butch leads initiatives that contribute to achieving the Paris Climate Agreement, UN Convention on Biological Diversity, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These include creating the Net-Zero Insurance Alliance, supporting the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ), convening the world’s leading insurers to pilot the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), championing nature-positive insurance, developing “Insurance SDGs”, creating a Sustainable Insurance Facility with V20 finance ministers for the most climate-vulnerable countries, and working with the California Insurance Commissioner to develop the world’s first sustainable insurance roadmap. He co-led the development of the first global sustainability guide for the insurance business, the creation of the UN-convened Sustainable Insurance Forum for regulators and supervisors, and forged the PSI’s partnership with the world’s inclusive insurance community. Butch was part of InsuranceERM’s inaugural list of the most influential people leading and shaping the insurance industry’s response to climate change.
Butch led the global process that created the PSI in 2012, and UNEP’s insurance and investment programmes from 2006 to 2010, including activities with the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). He has shaped global insurance industry initiatives to address climate change, disaster risks, tobacco risks, illegal fishing and plastic pollution; and to protect UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Butch has authored pioneering studies on sustainable insurance and responsible investment. Prior to the UN, he was in the insurance industry for over a decade, working with leading insurers and reinsurers worldwide.
Butch is also involved in the InsuResilience Global Partnership, Insurance Development Forum, California Climate Insurance Working Group, Microinsurance Network, and World Benchmarking Alliance.
Kyle leads BNEF’s sustainability research team, which publishes content on the private sector's transition to the low-carbon economy. The team focuses on core areas like environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting, target-setting, low-carbon pathways and sustainable finance. Kyle specializes in corporate clean energy procurement, net-zero targets and voluntary carbon offsets.
Murat heads Bloomberg’s EMEA and APAC product development for Regulatory & Climate Data solutions. He interacts with clients and regulators, identifying key challenges and supporting the development of new data sets. Murat has 18 years of risk management and compliance experience covering sell and buy side markets. Before joining Bloomberg, Murat worked as a Director at KPMG, advising clients in risk management.
Patricia Torres is Global Head of Sustainable Finance Solutions at Bloomberg, where she leads the Sustainable Finance solutions team, a group that is focused on ESG data, scores, regulatory solutions, third party data, Gender equality index and analytics. Previously, Patricia held several positions at Bloomberg, namely as Global Head for Financial Products Knowledge Group - leading a global team of learning consultants whose job was to create impactful change management programs aligned with Bloomberg’s new Enterprise Operating Model, as Regional Sales Manager, and as Regional Manager in the Data Department. Patricia has also worked as a consultant for Roland Berger Strategy Consultants, spanning different sectors, from the clothing segment, the mobile telecoms sector, and the digital and imaging technology market.
Imelda Hurley was appointed CEO of Coillte in November 2019. With one million acres under management, Coillte is Irelands largest forester, largest provider of outdoor recreation space, enables approximately one-third of Ireland’s wind-energy, processes forestry by-products and undertakes nature rehabilitation projects of scale. Imelda is also a Non-Executive Director at Dole Plc and is Deputy President of IBEC.She has over twenty years’ executive and non-executive experience in public company, state owned, private equity and venture capital backed businesses and has built that experience in multiple geographies including Ireland, UK, Eastern Europe, Hong Kong and China. Her previous roles include Executive Director & Chief Financial Officer at Origin Enterprises plc, Chief Financial Officer & Head of Sustainability at PCH International, Group Finance Director at Greencore Group plc, Non-Executive Director of Valeo Foods and Board Member at Ervia.Imelda holds a Bachelor of Business Studies from University of Limerick, is a Chartered Accountant and an alumna of Harvard Business School.
Francine Lacqua is an award-winning London-based anchor for Bloomberg Television. She co-anchors the weekday 3-hour daily program “Bloomberg Surveillance” with Tom Keene, where she provides insight on foreign policy, global markets and the top business stories of the day. She also presents “Leaders with Lacqua,” a special series where she sits down with top CEOs, entrepreneurs and public figures. Since joining Bloomberg in 2000, Lacqua has covered the World Economic Forum in Davos, IMF in Washington, G20 meetings, the EU Leaders Summit and OPEC. She also led Bloomberg Television’s coverage of the Italian and French elections where she was one of the first international reporters to interview cabinet members. While at Bloomberg, Lacqua has interviewed high-profile figures such as French President Emmanuel Macron, former UK Prime Minister David Cameron, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney, Billionaire financier George Soros and ECB President Mario Draghi. She has also interviewed finance ministers from South Korea, Russia, France, Mexico, Italy and Greece, as well as moderating televised debates from the World Economic Forum in Davos and the European Economic Governance package.
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.
Mary L. Schapiro is the Vice Chair for Global Public Policy of Bloomberg, the global financial technology company that was founded in 1981. She has been at Bloomberg since October 2018, and also serves as a Special Advisor to the Founder and Chairman.
Ms. Schapiro, who has had a distinguished career as a financial services regulator under four U.S. presidents from both political parties, oversees Bloomberg’s public policy and regulatory priorities globally. Her service as the 29th SEC Chair culminated decades of regulatory leadership. She was the first woman to serve as SEC Chair, and the only person to have served as chair of the SEC, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). During her four years as SEC Chair, Ms. Schapiro presided over one of the busiest rulemaking agendas in the SEC’s history, during which the agency also executed a comprehensive restructuring program to improve protections for investors and pursued aggressive enforcement of the federal securities laws.
Ms. Schapiro also serves as an advisor to Bloomberg in multiple capacities, including as the leader of the Financial Stability Board’s Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures, or TCFD. The TCFD has developed and garnered widespread support for a voluntary framework for corporate disclosure of climate-related risk information to help investors, lenders, and underwriters make informed financial decisions. She is also the vice chair of the Climate Finance Leadership Initiative (CFLI) created at the request of the UN Secretary General to work on scaling climate finance. She serves as vice chair of the Working Group on U.S. RMB Trading and Clearing which works to improve the competitiveness and efficiency of U.S. businesses by lowering trading costs and improving access to China’s markets
Before becoming SEC Chair and working for Bloomberg, Ms. Schapiro served as chief executive officer of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the largest nongovernmental regulator of securities firms. Earlier, she was Chair of the CFTC from 1994 to 1996, and a commissioner of the SEC from 1988 to 1994. She serves on the board of both Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), and CVS Health (NYSE: CVS). She is also a member of the governing board of the Center for Audit Quality and serves on advisory boards at the China Securities Regulatory Commission and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Board of Trustees of Franklin and Marshall College and the Humane Rescue Alliance.
Moyagh Murdock is the Chief Executive Officer of Insurance Ireland having taken over the role from Interim CEO Gerry Hassett in April 2020. Previously she was the CEO of the Road Safety Authority, a position she has held since February 2014. Prior to taking up the CEO role in the RSA, she was Chief Operating Officer for Bus Éireann after having first joined the company in 2007 as the Deputy Chief Mechanical Engineer with responsibility for the fleet maintenance and garage operations. Originally from Newry, Co. Down, Moyagh graduated from Queen's University Belfast with a B.Eng. Mechanical Engineering. She also holds an MBA from Dublin City University and a Certificate of Professional Competence in Road Transport Operations Management.
Anna Sweeney is Executive Director at the Prudential Regulation Authority. She has responsibility for the Risk & Operations function of the PRA, which includes the Chief Operating Office, ownership of the PRA’s supervisory approach and risk model and support for the PRA’s senior committees. Anna also co-leads Insurance Supervision with Charlotte Gerken, where she is responsible for the supervision of the UK’s general insurance sector, including the Society of Lloyd’s.The PRA’s approach to insurance supervision seeks to deliver the PRA’s statutory objectives to:• promote the safety and soundness of the firms we regulate; and• contribute to the securing of an appropriate degree of protection for those who are or may become policyholders.Anna was previously our Director of Insurance Supervision (between 2017 and 2019). Anna is an experienced insurance and banking regulator, having previously led the supervision of a number of the largest banks and insurers.
Michael Bloomberg has long been a global leader in the fight against climate change. As three-term mayor of New York City, he implemented a groundbreaking strategic sustainability plan and reduced carbon emissions by 13 percent, positioning the city as a model for climate action around the world. His foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, focuses on the environment as one of its key program areas, and he has given more than $1 billion to the global climate fight. Bloomberg serves as the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Climate Ambition and Solutions, as well as Global Ambassador for the Race to Zero and Race to Resilience campaigns.
Bloomberg leads a number of efforts that are making progress in the global climate fight. He serves as president of the board of the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group and co-chairs the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy and the “America Is All In” coalition. He also created the American Cities Climate Challenge to help the largest U.S. cities make more progress reducing carbon emissions in support of the Paris Agreement goals.
Through the U.S. Beyond Coal campaign, Bloomberg has worked with environmental organizations to retire more than 65% of all U.S. coal plants since 2011 – and in 2017, he expanded the effort to Europe, where Europe Beyond Coal has retired 50% of the continent’s plants. Building on this progress, he also launched Beyond Carbon, the largest-ever coordinated campaign to take on the climate crisis in the U.S., which aims to retire all domestic coal plants by 2030 and stop the construction of new gas plants.
Bloomberg has been instrumental in involving the financial community in the fight against climate change. He serves as chair of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, which develops recommendations to help companies disclose information on the climate-related risks and opportunities they face. And at the UN Secretary-General’s request, he formed the Climate Finance Leadership Initiative with other influential private sector leaders to accelerate investments in climate solutions.
Bloomberg also collaborates with partners and countries around the world to protect marine ecosystems and preserve coral reefs.
He is co-author, with Carl Pope, of the New York Times bestseller Climate of Hope: How Cities, Businesses, and Citizens Can Save the Planet.
Curtis Ravenel is a Senior Advisor to former Bank of England Governor Mark Carney, COP26 Finance Advisor and UN Special Envoy for Climate Finance and a founding member of the Secretariat for the Financial Stability Board’s Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). He also serves as a Distinguished Fellow in Sustainable Finance at ClimateWorks Foundation and as a Strategic Advisor to Context Labs BV.
Curtis founded the Sustainable Business & Finance Group at Bloomberg LP and served as its Global Head from 2007-2019. Under his leadership, Bloomberg integrated sustainability considerations into the firm’s operations globally and developed strategies to leverage Bloomberg’s Enterprise Products to evaluate sustainability-related risks and opportunities for its user base of finance professionals and other influential decision-makers.
Prior to his role as Global Head of Sustainable Business & Finance, Curtis served as Financial Controller for Asia, managing accounting, tax, treasury and audit services for 23 legal entities with combined annual revenues exceeding $1billion USD. This was preceded by leadership roles in the Capital Planning and Financial Analysis Groups.
Earlier in his career, Curtis co-managed a small real estate development group, founded a microbrewery and worked with the Recycling Advisory Council in Washington, D.C. conducting Full Cost Accounting and Life Cycle Analysis work.
He was awarded a David Rockefeller Fellowship with the Partnership for New York City in 2011, appointed by the Obama Administration to serve on the US chapter of the G8 Advisory Board on Impact Investing in 2013 and received the Columbia Business School Exemplary Leadership Award in 2016. In 2018-2019, he served as the only non-European appointee to the European Commission’s Technical Expert Group on Sustainable Finance. Curtis holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and a BA in History from Davidson College.
Russell is a Partner in KPMG Ireland and leads KPMG Sustainable Future, the firm’s dedicated climate & sustainability advisory practice. Russell has over 15 years’ experience in the low carbon and sustainability sector, supporting corporates and semi-state organisations develop and implement ESG and decarbonisation strategies.
Cathal is a member of the leadership team in AIB Corporate Banking leading a large business with responsibility for the Agriculture, Food Manufacturing and Healthcare industry sectors. In recent years, Cathal has also been actively involved in AIB's Brexit readiness initiatives and the bank's Sustainability Regulatory Steering activities. Cathal is currently AIB's representative on the Governing Body of the Inter Alpha Group of European Banks and has previously been chairman of this group. In previous roles, Cathal was a Director of AIB’s Australian business, was Head of AIB’s Corporate Asset Finance business and has worked in AIB’s International Corporate Banking unit.
He serves as an expert to the Sino-German Center for Finance and Economics in Frankfurt. He is also a Fellow of the Think Tank of the Asian Financial Cooperation Association, based in Beijing and is Senior Advisor at Frankfurt Main Finance. Jochen holds a Ph.D. in Mathematics from Brandenburgische Technische Universität Cottbus-Senftenberg; and a Master in mathematics & computer science from The University of Göttingen.
Zalina has over 20 years of experience, predominantly in corporate advisory, and has worked in five countries in different regions of Asia. Zalina is a Fellow of the Association of Certified Chartered Accountants (ACCA) and holds a MBA in Finance from CASS Business School, UK.
Throughout her career Zahra has served as project manager for Börse Stuttgart and served in the treasury department of Daimler AG. Holds a Bachelor in International Business with a Major in Finance from the University of Heilbronnthe University of Pittsburgh. She concluded her academic career with a Master of Science in Finance from the University of Hohenheim.
He has served as Special Assistant to the Finance Commissioner, Delta State; Head, Financial Advisory & Economic Research, Financial Derivatives Company Limited; and Acting Head, Strategy/Chief Economist at Unity Bank PLC, Abuja, Nigeria.
Cathal is Senior Investment Director - Food and Agriculture for the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund. He leads a team with responsibility for investments in the Food and Agriculture sector.The ISIF Food and Agriculture portfolio is covers a broad range of sectors and seeks to support Irish companies make transformational changes to enable them scale internationally while delivering on the “Total Food Systems” approach outlined in the recent Government AgriFood strategy.Climate change in agriculture is a key Investment focus of ISIF and it has a flexible capital structure to design a range of tailored financial solutions to support solutions that can be scaled across the sector.Prior to joining ISIF Cathal was Finance Director of the Irish Dairy Board (Ornua) whom he joined from Price Waterhouse.Cathal is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland, he holds a B.Comm from UCD, a Diploma in Corporate Treasury from DCU and a Diploma in Corporate Direction from Institute of Directors.
Yvonne Holmes is the Chief Sustainability Officer in AIB and has responsibility for the development and implementation of the Sustainability Strategy across AIB Group. Yvonne is a member of the Chambers Ireland’s Sustainable Business Council and is the Chair of the Sustainable Finance Skillnet. Yvonne’s previous roles include Head of Analytics & Head of Consumer Strategy and Yvonne has also led a number of key programmes across AIB Group, including Retail Transformation, Core Systems Replacement & Digital Customer Experience
Organised in association with KPMG.
Speakers:
A session, organised in cooperation with Temporis, discussing COP26 and the role of finance and offshore wind energy in delivering on Ireland’s energy targets and its net zero ambitions. A key goal of COP26 will be to secure global net zero by mid-century. From an energy perspective this means accelerating the transition from petroleum and coal to clean power. Ireland has already made commitments and therefore our focus needs to be on delivery – the electrification of energy and the harnessing of our best natural resource, our outstanding offshore wind. The offshore sector is only emerging in Ireland and presents a real opportunity for the Irish economy to develop clean power for Irish consumers while benefitting jobs, workers, and communities. To maximise the potential for an Irish offshore wind industry Ireland needs to mobilise finance in concert with visionary public policy support.
Organised in association with UN Principles for Sustainable Insurance (PSI) and Insurance Ireland.
FINANCING A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE: The role of business in delivering on Net-Zero "As we approach UN COP26, the financial sector is stepping up on climate action with enhanced climate-risk reporting and adopting net-zero strategies. One year on from Ireland's endorsement of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations, companies are not only implementing the TCFD recommendations but are also looking ahead to the actions needed to achieve net zero.
In advance of the publication of the TCFD's annual status report, join us for a virtual event in partnership with Climate Finance Week Ireland 2021, featuring a high-level dialogue on how Irish and European firms are taking concrete steps to reduce their carbon footprint.
This event takes place on the Bloomberg platform - REGISTER HERE Join us for a discussion on:
• What has been achieved and what needs to be done to ensure a smooth transition• How can the TCFD framework support companies' net-zero transition plans
• What are companies doing to integrate climate-related risks - into their day-to-day business operations to reach net-zero targetsThe event will also feature a breakout session following the panel discussion with Bloomberg sustainable finance experts to discuss what a "good" net-zero target looks like, how are investors comparing these targets, and examples of best practices when setting up net-zero commitments."Organised in association with Bloomberg and the Department of Finance.Speakers:• Francine Lacqua, Editor-at-Large, Bloomberg TV• Mary L. Schapiro, Vice Chair of Global Public Policy, Special Advisor to the Founder and Chairman, Bloomberg• Colin Hunt, CEO, AIB• Imelda Hurley, CEO, Coillte• Kasper Elmgreen, Head of Equities, Amundi• Stéphane Boujnah, CEO and Chairman of the Managing Board, Euronext N.V• Pat Cox, Ambassador, Sustainable Finance Ireland• Michael R. Bloomberg, U.N. Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Climate Ambition and Solutions. Founder of Bloomberg LP and Bloomberg Philanthropies. 108th Mayor of New York City• Kyle Harrison, Head of Sustainability Research, BloombergNEF• Murat Bozdemir, Regulatory, Risk & Climate Data Product Manager, Bloomberg • Patricia Torres, Global Head of Sustainable Finance Solutions, Bloomberg
This event takes place on the Bloomberg platform - REGISTER HERE
Organised in association with UN Principles for Responsible Banking and the Banking & Payments Federation of Ireland.
Supported by Sustainable Finance Skillnet.The banking sector in Ireland is at the core of the climate transition, supporting customers to move away from dependence on carbonising and polluting activities and to avail of the opportunities of greener economic activities. BPFI recognises that banks, as intermediaries and advisors, will finance the transition to a carbon neutral future, delivering on EU and national climate objectives. Both domestic and international banking members are already well advanced in integrating ESG criteria into business and investment decisions. This panel discussion will explore best practice in the integration of ESG into banking institutions. Speakers from AIB and from TD Global Finance will discuss with BPFI CEO Brian Hayes, their banks’ robust and sophisticated approaches to achieving their Net Zero commitments.
• Brian Hayes, CEO, BPFI – Moderator• Laura Quinn, Managing Director, Head of Primary Markets, TD Global Finance• Yvonne Holmes, Chief Sustainability Officer, AIB
Many thanks for registering, you will receive an email confirmation, calendar reminder and updates closer to the event.