This Royal Society meeting will explore climate science and the technologies that show genuine promise towards net zero emissions, as well as barriers to the flow of capital and solutions to funding such technologies.
Background
Achieving a net zero carbon society that is both resilient to climate change and inclusive requires the development and widespread deployment of both disruptive and existing technologies, supported by public and private funding. Responding to climate change has historically been seen as the realm of government policy, however, there is rising expectation that the financial sector should contribute to managing the risks associated with climate change. In June 2019, at least $30.7 trillion of funds were held in sustainable or green investments, an increase of 34% from 2016 according to a report by the Global Sustainable Investment Alliance. However, closer integration is needed between the physical and social sciences, financial professionals and institutions, innovative start-ups and global industry to support a low-carbon future.
This unique interaction between science and finance will bring together leading experts from across industry, government and the wider scientific and financial communities. Speakers will explore recent developments in low carbon technologies across sectors which have been the target for ‘green finance’: hydrogen and ammonia, heating and cooling, batteries and energy storage, nuclear energy and digital. The meeting will explore opportunities and challenges to commercialising these technologies and potential solutions to channel the world’s finance into their widespread implementation. Speakers will discuss the measurement of risk of new scientific technologies for the financial community and how to mitigate this.
About the conference series
The conference is part of the Royal Society’s Transforming our future conference series, overseen by the Science, Industry and Translation Committee and generously supported by AstraZeneca. These meetings are unique, high-level events that address the scientific and technical challenges of the next decade. Each conference features cutting edge science from industry and academia and brings together leading experts from the scientific community, including regulatory, charity and funding bodies.
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