Scientific findings show that climate change is already wreaking havoc not just on vulnerable ecosystems and communities, but also on global supply chains, critical infrastructure, and commodity, labor, and insurance markets around the world.

For businesses and investors, tackling climate change can no longer fall under “corporate social responsibility.” It is a bottom-line issue, and the successful companies of the future will be those equipped to grapple with its complexities and navigate the intersection of public policy, technology, and markets.

Barron’s Group and Project Syndicate are convening a group of experts at the Asia Society — including Asia Society Policy Institute President Kevin Rudd — to shed light on how companies can reorient their business models around environmental, social, and governance factors to maintain sustainable investment and to highlight the market opportunities awaiting those who embrace the challenge.

Please note, this is a private program. For inquiries, please reach out to the Asia Society Policy Institute team at [email protected]. 

Tentative Event Agenda

(1:00pm-1:10pm) Welcome Remarks

Alexander Friedman, former Chief Executive Officer of GAM Investments, Chairman of the Project Syndicate Advisory Board

(1:10pm–1:25pm) Keynote

Kevin Rudd,  President of the Asia Society Policy Institute, and former Prime Minister of Australia

(1:30pm-2:25pm) Panel One – All Aboard?

Though President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States from the 2015 Paris climate accord has dominated the spotlight, the Trump administration is not the only hurdle to meeting – and going beyond – the Paris targets. How can governments accelerate progress toward sustainability, given the distributional conflicts green policies often engender?

• Jeffrey Sachs (Chair), Director of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network and Professor at Columbia University
• Kevin Rudd, President of the Asia Society Policy Institute, and former Prime Minister of Australia
• Lynn Scarlett, Vice President for Policy and Government Relations at The Nature Conservancy
• Laurence Tubiana, CEO of the European Climate Foundation
• Richenda Van Leeuwen, Managing Director of The Rocky Mountain Institute

(2:20pm-2:30pm) Break

(2:30pm-2:55pm) Keynote

Werner Hoyer, President of the European Investment Bank
with introduction by Betrand Badre, Chairman of One Planet and Project Syndicate Advisory Board Member

(2:40pm-3:50pm) Panel Two – Reckoning with the Risks 

From far-reaching effects on supply chains to looming dead-weight losses implied by past investments in fossil fuels, the business and financial risks associated with climate change are almost too numerous and complex to grapple with. Where should companies, investors, and other market participants direct their focus as we move from abstract notions of risk to real-world balance sheets?

• Nouriel Roubini (Chair), Professor at NYU’s Stern School of Business and CEO of Roubini Macro Associates
• Graciela Chichilnisky, Professor of Economics at Columbia University and co-founder and CEO of Global Thermostat
• Rémy Rioux, CEO of Agence Française de Développement, Chair of IDFC
• Stephen S. Roach, faculty member at Yale University and former Chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia
• Frédéric Samama, Head of Responsible Investment at Amundi Asset Management

(3:40pm-3:55pm) Closing Remarks

Christiana Figueres, former Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, is Convener of the global climate initiative Mission 2020.

(4:00pm-4:30pm) Reception