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TOP 15 tweets from Sustainable Innovation Forum #Day1

The Sustainable Innovation Forum (SIF) on 7th and 8th December 2015 featured corporate decision-makers sharing ideas on subjects such as sustainable development, renewable energies and achieving a low-carbon economy.

You can enjoy the first day’s highlights here:

8.35 a.m. SIF15 Welcome Address

Achim Steiner (Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Program [UNEP] and Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations) and Dr. Hakima El Haite (Delegate Minister in Charge of Environment, Morocco and COP22 host) opened the event.

9.15 a.m. High Level Business Address

Peter Schwarzenbauer, member of the Board of Management for BMW AG, spoke about the German company’s commitments in terms of emission reductions that were initiated in 1995.

9.25 a.m. Opening Plenary: Carbon Pricing and Markets

The carbon pricing plenary welcomed Anthony Hobley (Chief Executive Officer, Carbon Tracker Initiative), Barbara Hendricks (German Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Construction, and Nuclear Safety), Hon Tim Groser (Minister for Climate Change Issues, Minister of Trade, New Zealand), Hans Schulz (Vice President, Private Sector and Structured & Corporate Finance, Inter-America Development Bank) and Ingrid Bonde (Chief Financial Officer and Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Vattenfall).

11.10 a.m. Sustainable Cities: increasing Efficiency and Transforming Design

The Sustainable Cities round table participants were: Yancey Hai (Chairman, Delta Electronics), Niels B. Christiansen (Chief Executive Officer, Danfoss), Jake Layes (Director, Global Cleantech & Entrepreneur Impact, Autodesk), Nik Gowing (International Broadcaster) and finally Manuel Heitor (Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education of Portugal).

12.15 p.m. Spotlight on Urban Mobility

Evolution of citizens’ uses, the progress of electric vehicles technology and the need for less polluting alternatives were discussed at the urban mobility conference. The speakers were: Helena Molin Valdes  (Head Secretary, Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC), UNEP), Monika Zimmermann (Deputy Secretary General, ICLEI) and Glenn Schmidt (Vice President, Government and External Affairs, Americas, BMW Group, Transport Representative).

1.00 p.m. Climate Leader Insight: Climate Change and the Sustainable Development Goals

The morning ended with Helen Clark‘s declaration (Administrator, United Nations Development Programme [UNDP]). She invited all attending leaders to define concrete measures in favour of the fight against global warming.

2.25 p.m. Climate Leader Insight: International Energy Leadership

The afternoon started with a remarkable speech by Iceland’s president,  Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson. He explained how Iceland has initiated its sustainable development policy and that the country now operates using 100% renewable energy. As an example, he showed how environmental targets managed by the country have helped accelerate the economic development of Iceland, especially in terms of green tourism.

2.40 p.m. De-carbonising Global Energy Supply: Renewable Energy and Low Carbon Opportunities

This eagerly-awaited conference covered the decarbonising of the world’s energy supply in favour of renewable energies and low-carbon opportunities. The speakers were: Jane Burston (Head, Climate and Environment, UK National Physics Laboratory -NPL), Marie-José Nadeau (Chair, World Energy Council), Manuel Pulgar- Vidal (Minister of Environment, Peru), Nicola Sturgeon (First Minister of Scotland, Scottish National Party), Jonathan Taylor (Vice-President for Environment and Climate Action, European Investment Bank -EIB), Hordur Arnarson (Chief Executive Officer, Landsvirkjun) and Carl Pendragon (Co-Founder of Carbon Wealth).

This particularly  dynamic conference highlighted Scotland’s policies and commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80%. The Scottish Prime Minister unveiled his wish to inspire other countries in this direction. At the conference’s close, final speaker Carl Pendragon revealed that a new technology called “Sky Mining” that is able to absorb CO2 from the earth’s atmosphere.

4.15 p.m. Sustainable Agriculture, Forestry and Water Use

Sustainable agriculture, forestry and water use have been deemed by some as the most important subjects of the forum. Carlo Lambro (Brand President, New Holland Agriculture), Mark Tercek (President and Chief Executive Officer, The Nature Conservancy), Patrick Brown (Chief Executive Officer, Impossible Foods), Nik Gowing (International Broadcaster) and finally Olivier Dubois (Leader, Energy Programme Climate, Energy and Tenure Division, UN Food and Agriculture Organisation -FAO) all spoke on the subject.

Future innovations and revolutions in the food industry were also discussed, from the edibility of certain insects to meatless burger-making.

5.20 p.m. Closing Plenary: The Future of Climate Finance

The closing plenary of the first day was held by Miguel Albero  (Global Head, Origination Trade & Working Capital Solutions, Santander), Michel Madelain  (Global Head, Origination Trade & Working Capital Solutions, Santander), Sean Kidney (Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Climate bonds) and Eric Usher (Officer in Charge, UNEP Finance Initiative).

The round table was an opportunity to remind decision-makers and key industry figures of the importance of financing renewable energies for the development of a more sustainable global economy.

We’d like to thank all speakers for the quality of the debates and the participants for sharing these exchanges on social media.

Follow our live tweets from COP21 on 7th and 8th December by following us on Twitter.

Red-on-Lines teams


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