The recent IPCC report served as a reminder that human activities are playing a key role in driving the climate crisis, and that human action will be necessary to fight back against it. Our society is deeply interconnected with our economy and the systems of consumption and production which support our lives and livelihoods, so in the fifth of our STAGES on the Road to COP26, the IES is looking at the economic transitions required to support effective climate action.

This panel event will offer insights from business, media and policy, asking whether businesses, jobs, and ESG (environmental, social, and corporate governance) can play a role in the climate transition. In particular, the event will be looking at corporate sustainability, just transition, and the role of businesses in the climate agenda. After presentations from speakers, attendees will have the opportunity to share their views and put their questions to the panel.

Whether you work in the sustainability field or have a wider interest in the climate crisis, this panel event will have an abundance of insights and learning to share.

Speakers

Sarah George

Sarah has worked for edie.net full-time for more than three years, overseeing breaking news in the spheres of green policy and sustainable business, producing exclusive multi-media content including high-level interviews and, latterly, acting as secretary for edie’s long-running Sustainable Business Covered podcast and new Net-Zero Business Podcast. In 2020, edie won the Association of Online Publishers’ (AOP) Digital Editorial Team of the Year Award. edie covers all topics relating to sustainable business, giving Sarah a birds-eye view of trending focus areas. Sarah is playing a key role in the delivery of edie’s ongoing Countdown to COP26 Festival of exclusive content and events.

Joshua Emden

Josh’s work at the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) focuses on developing just transition policy across all sectors of the economy. He is the programme lead for the New Social Contract and Industrial Strategy themes for IPPR's Environmental Justice Commission. Josh has previously worked on renewable electricity and heat policy, energy networks and systems and implementation strategies that include devolved and local governance. He is a regular commentator on climate, energy and just transition policy and has written on the subject for Huffington Post, Business Green and Energy Monitor amongst others.

Josh holds an MSc with Distinction in Environmental Technology from Imperial College London and a BA in Classics from the University of Cambridge.

Dimitri Zenghelis

Dimitri Zenghelis is Special Advisor to the Wealth Economy Project at the Bennett Institute, University of Cambridge and is a Senior Visiting Fellow at the London School of Economics. He was until recently Head of Policy at the Grantham Research Institute at the LSE and Acting Chief Economist for the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate. Previously, he headed the Stern Review Team at the Office of Climate Change, London, and was a lead author on the Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change, commissioned by the then Chancellor Gordon Brown.

Before working on climate change, Dimitri was Head of Economic Forecasting at HM Treasury. He advises governments, financial institutions and international organisations (including the UN, World Bank and regional development banks, the Mayor of London and the UK Committee on Climate Change among others) on macroeconomics, sustainable growth, climate change and innovation.

Agenda

• Introductions (12.00-12.05)
• Presentations by panelists (12.05-12.50)
• Audience Q&A / discussion (12.50-13.20)
• Closing remarks (13.20-13.25)
• Summary (13.25-13.30)

This event is part of our work on the STAGES on the road to COP26 exploring the theme of Economy. This fifth stage on our road to COP will investigate the ways that our economy needs to change to become greener.