Agenda

10:00: Chair’s welcome
Francesca Fabrizi, Editor in Chief, European Pensions

10:00 – 10:35: Keynote Speaker: Climate change – the science and the effects followed by a Q&A session
Professor Martin Siegert, Professor of Geosciences and co-Director of the Grantham Institute,Imperial College London

A brief inspection of the landscape around us informs that climate has changed significantly in the past. Ice ages, that sculptured highlands and deposited sediments across lowlands, still strikingly evident today, occurred when atmospheric CO2 levels dropped to 180 parts per million (mmp). The ice melted when CO2 increased to 280 ppm. Such transitions have occurred regularly over the last 2 million years, repeating cycles of glaciation and relative warmth - until 1850. The Industrial Revolution led to the injection of CO2 into the air at a rate unprecedented in geological history. It now stands at a level not seen for 3-5 million years, when temperatures were 3-4 degrees warmer than today. If we keep injecting CO2 into the air with the acceleration observed over the last 50 years, it will top 1000 ppm by 2100. The temperature changes may take time to equilibrate, but the end-conditions are clear. A world with 1000 ppm of CO2 in the air will not be possible to inhabit in the way we do today. In this session, Professor Martin Siegert will focus on the science that records these past changes, and how this informs us of the world we need to plan to avoid over the coming decades.

10:35 – 11:15: Deep decarbonisation – the direct and indirect implications followed by a Q&A session
Mark Lewis, Chief Sustainability Strategist at BNP Paribas Asset Management, BNP Paribas Asset Management

With net zero greenhouse gas emissions to become a legally binding target in Europe by 2050, every aspect of the energy system has to be decarbonised and the case for renewable energy sources grows ever more vital. With the production of green hydrogen being C02-free, since it involves renewable electrical energy as its power source, the development of a green hydrogen economy in the EU is set to get a significant boost from this impending legislation. In this session, Mark will discuss how this decarbonisation can be approached, and what it means for institutional investors.

11:15 -12:00: Environmental solutions available to Nordic pension funds today followed by a Q&A session
Ulrik Fugmann, Co-head of Environmental Strategies Group, BNP Paribas Asset Management

As investors we see the disruption that climate instability is bringing, but with crises and change comes opportunity. Amidst this turbulence, we are observing numerous themes, frequently fuelled by technological advances, which present compelling investments. In this session, Ulrik will explore the opportunities for investing in environmental solutions, discuss why the energy transition is so important and how investing in this area can make a positive impact and provide future returns for Nordic investors.

12:00: Close of seminar

Downloadable slides:
Ulrik Fugmann, Co-head of Environmental Strategies Group, BNP Paribas Asset Management
Mark Lewis, Chief Sustainability Strategist, BNP Paribas Asset Management
Professor Martin Siegert, Professor of Geosciences and co-Director of the Grantham Institute,Imperial College London