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.
