This session will take place from 11.45-13.00

The EU faces an annual €477 billion investment gap to deliver the green transition by 2030, with private capital expected to play a crucial role. While recent years have brought new rules to guide sustainable finance, parts of this framework are now being rolled back, even as new tools are explored. Reports by Mario Draghi and Enrico Letta stress the need to better channel household savings into innovative companies, with the Commission set to propose a European Savings and Investments Union to strengthen capital markets. Meanwhile, tough negotiations on the next EU budget will determine how public finance can help unlock private investment at the necessary scale.

Moderated by: Tommy Ahlers, Entrepreneur and Chairman of the Board, CONCITO  

Speakers: 

• Jurei Yada, Director, Strategic Member State Engagement & Head of EU Sustainable Finance, E3G
• Kim Jørgensen, Head of Institutional Relations (EMEA), Temasek Brussels office
• Eulalia Rubio, Senior Research Fellow at CEPS and the Jaques Delors Institute
• Lars Krogsgaard, Chief Investment Officer, Impact Fund Denmark

Online participation: view here

This session will take place from 11.45-13.00

With the Clean Industrial Deal, the European Commission has reaffirmed that competitiveness and decarbonization are mutually reinforcing. But as the EU decides which industries and technologies to bet on, it must balance the priorities of its Member States: should it focus on decarbonising energy intensive industries, or on building leadership in a new generation of cleantech? With limited EU resources and many Member States facing difficult fiscal prioritisation, this question will only become more relevant.

Moderated by: Ditte Maria Brasso Sørensen, Deputy Director and Senior Analyst, Think Tank EUROPA 

Speakers:  

• Neil Makaroff, Director, Strategic Perspectives
• Tine Nielsen Hertz, Deputy Permanent Secretary of State, International and Regulatory Affairs, Ministry for Industry, Bussiness, and Financial Affairs, Denmark 
• Fleming Voetmann, Vice President of External Relations and Sustainability, VELUX
• Andreas Rasche, Professor of Business in Society at the CBS Centre for Sustainability and Associate Dean for the CBS Full-Time MBA Program, Copenhagen Business School
• Ben Lennon, Climate, Energy and Industry Advisor, European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC)

Online participation: view here

This session will take place from 14.00-15.15

Climate action in the agri-food sector is essential to reach the EU’s 2040 target and the goal of climate neutrality by 2050. Yet agricultural emissions have stagnated for 15 years and are unlikely to fall without new policy. The European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change and others recommend introducing emissions pricing to drive the transition, while ensuring farming remains viable and provides healthy, sustainable food. With the Commission’s “Vision for Agriculture and Food”, the challenge is to design policies and incentives that make the sector attractive, competitive, sustainable and fair within limited public budgets.

Moderated by: Julia Bognar, Head of Programme, Land Use and Climate, IEEP – Institute for European environmental policy

Speakers: 

• Christian Holzleitner, Head of Unit for Land Economy and Carbon Removals, Directorate-General for Climate Action, European Commission
• Helena Wright, Policy Director at the FAIRR Initiative
• Hugh McDonald, Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute
• Christian Stenberg, Deputy Permanent Secretary for EU, international climate and energy at the Danish Ministry of Climate, Energy and Utilities
• Sophie Scherger, Climate and Agriculture Policy Officer, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy - IATP

Commentary remarks by: Simone Højte, Senior Consultant in the Food Division, CONCITO

Online participation: view here

This session will take place from 14.00-15.15

High energy prices are undermining the competitiveness of European businesses compared to American and Chinese rivals, driven by the EU’s high import of costly fossil fuels and slow electrification. To cut costs, reduce imports and reach its 2040 climate target, the EU must double electrification rates and grid investments while decarbonising its power supply and integrating the market. This panel will discuss how European policy reforms can help achieve this.

Moderated by: Christoph Heinrich, Executive Director, Ecologic Institute  

Speakers: 

• Ingrid Reumert, Senior Vice President, Ørsted
• Émeline Spire, Director Europa, Agora
• Sara Vad, Vice President, Head of Public Affairs, Danfoss
• Niels Anger, Head of EU Energy Transition at the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action

Online participation: view here