RESEARCH TOUR - How to shift the trillions: The role of finance on the road to climate neutrality
Getting to the bottom of a topic full of technical terms and concepts from the world of banking and asset management may prove tricky for journalists who are unfamiliar with the financial sector. Conversely, those who regularly report on financial markets sometimes may struggle to stay abreast of the rapid changes unfolding in climate policy and look beyond the quarterly profit and loss accounts that are the bread and butter business of finance journalism.
Clean Energy Wire’s sustainable finance research tour, organised in close cooperation with the German Sustainable Finance Research Platform (WPSF) and supported by the Green and Sustainable Finance Cluster Germany (GSFCG), combines their respective expertise to bring in a genuine journalistic perspective when meeting with key players during two days of on-the-ground research opportunities in one of Europe’s most important finance hubs.
Contents and objectives
The programme will first include time to familiarise all participants with key concepts, discourses, instruments and actors at the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management, one of five partner institutions of the Sustainable Finance Research Platform. After an introduction on the role of finance in the transformation of the economy, topics will include globalised climate damages or discuss how to empower emerging and developing countries to deal with losses and damages caused by climate change.
In the evening, Silke Stremlau, Chairperson of the Sustainable Finance Advisory of the of the German Federal Government, and Michael Schmidt, Co-head of the GSFCG will provide insights into the necessary changes on a political level. During the welcome diner, there will be opportunities to get together with some Frankfurt-based finance journalists working on the topic.
As the guardian of price stability in the Eurozone, the European Central Bank (ECB) has also begun focussing on climate change as a risk to economic and the financial stability – and to respond accordingly. Speakers from ECB’s "Climate Change Centre" will explain and discuss how the central bank aims to strike a balance between those targets, both in its daily as work as well as in its long-term macroeconomic perspectives.
In the afternoon, various actors in financing a sustainable transformation will provide insights into the industry's activities. Representatives of different sectors will join for a roundtable at the Frankfurter Börse (German stock exchange). The panel will include participants from (among others) corporate, retail and public banking, asset management, and insurance, to discuss their roles, challenges and strategies in promoting a sustainable economy.
To end the second day, the participants will meet with representatives of the European Investment Bank (EIB). The Luxembourg-based EU institution calls itself “Europe’s climate bank” and will explain the details and thinking behind this claim.
On the third day, the tour will take participants to visit a leading research and production site of Clariant, a Swiss multinational specialty chemicals company, to get some insights about the financial challenges and opportunities when it comes to funding its transformation towards a climate friendly business model.
You can apply via our online form till Monday, 31 July. This programme is yet open to changes. Names and positions of speakers (and probably additional events or speakers) will be added within the next weeks.
Frequently asked questions on how to apply, costs and logistics
The research tour is open to journalists from all over Europe (country of primary residence).
To apply, please click on the red 'sign up' button above that will take you to the webform.
Please note that applications in any other language than English will not be accepted.
By submitting your application and upon its success, you agree that your name, associated media outlet, country of primary residence and email address will appear on the list shared with all participants if your application is successful. All data necessary to organise the tour will be shared with the Media Service Unit/Directorate-General for Communication of the European Parliament.
All presentations during the workshop will be in English, or otherwise live translated into English.
Participation in the research tour is free of charge. Furthermore, all expenses incurred during the tour, including food, accommodation and local transportation will be covered by Clean Energy Wire. The Directorate-General for Communication of the European Parliament will cover the costs one hotel night in Brussels and the transport from Brussels to the home destination of each participant.
Journalists or editorial staff who have made an internal commitment not to accept free services from third parties, or who do not wish to participate in the research trip free of charge for other reasons, may pay for their own travel and share of accommodation and meals. Please contact us directly at event@cleanenergywire.org
Selected participants will organise their own travel to Amsterdam, and back from Brussels independently, and will be reimbursed for their expenses after the event. Do not book anything before you get the confirmation that you can take part. When arranging travel, participants are kindly asked to consider climate-friendly modes of transportation where viable and reasonable. Please keep in mind the budgetary constraints of up to 400 euro return connection for economy class travel. Participants who would like to cover their expenses on their own (travel, food, accommodation) can get an invoice upon request after the tour.
The tour will most likely start on 3 March at 5.00 p.m. and will end on 6 March around 4 p.m. A more detailed programme will be published about one month prior to the start of the tour.
All successful applicants will be notified on how to claim reimbursement ahead of the tour. It is generally not possible to reimburse travel expenses in cash.
Deadline for applications is 31 January 2024.
Please make sure to have access to your email, and do check the spam folder. If your application has been successful you will receive a confirmation email from CLEW no later than 6 February. In this event, please confirm your participation by 12 pm CEST on 9 February. Otherwise your place will be offered to another applicant.
If you require a letter of invitation for your visa application, please let us know by sending an email to event@cleanenergywire.org. Please make sure you have a visa appointment at your embassy or consulate well before the research tour begins to leave enough time for visa processing.
Note: we do not reimburse visa fees or insurance costs.
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Please check your spam folder for an automatically generated email which will ask you to confirm that you submitted an application successfully.
You will then hear from CLEW regarding the outcome of your application no later than 6 February 2024.
Interviews and public debates between journalists and speakers follow different rules and practices in different parts of the world. To make the context of our media trip clear for all involved, we would like to set out the following framework guiding the interaction with participating journalists:
Quotes and interviews
- We work on the basis that statements made by participants can be quoted by the journalists present in their media reports. However, during this tour we will have more exceptions from this general rule, so please ask us or the speakers if you're are not sure.
- If speakers do not want to be quoted, we ask them to inform participating journalists where this is the case. Remarks may then be made "off the record" and will not be quoted.
- Outside Germany it is not common practice for journalists to seek authorisation for quotes before using them. If a speaker does require the participating journalists to check quotes with the speaker before publishing, we ask the speaker to advise journalists of this.
Photos, audio or video recordings
- We respect journalists’ fundamental right not to disclose the sources of their research. Some of the participants also come from countries where press freedom is under threat and where journalists are prosecuted. As a safeguard to participants’ rights and their well-being, we kindly ask the speakers not to take any photos or to make any film or audio recordings on which participants can be individually identified without asking them beforehand.
- If the speakers would like to take photos or record audio or video of our visit, they can approach a staff member for Clean Energy Wire so that we can agree on safe and workable solutions.
- If there are restrictions to taking photos or to making audio or video recordings on the premises, we will inform participants.
Don't hesitate to get in contact with us at event@cleanenergywire.org.