Spotlight Sessions

Our afternoon sessions focused on three of the biggest topics, applicable to both the green steel and green energy journeys –policy, just transition and where we go from here.

Much like the morning, the Spotlight Sessions brought together some high-level speakers to engage in direct, purposeful conversations.

Despite business and citizen support, renewable energy is often hampered by restrictive policy decisions that favour fossil fuels. In the first of our three Spotlight Sessions, there were some great examples of countries collaborating on similar challenges, such as Australia, India and the US on green hydrogen.

Peta Olesen, the Australian government’s director in its Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, described the challenge as looking at “the ecosystem, not just the technology. Bringing together governments, big businesses and communities to move projects forward”.

Speakers:

• Benedict Chia, Director (Strategic Issues), National Climate Change Secretariat, Prime Minister’s Office, Singapore

• Helen Clarkson, CEO, Climate Group

• Dr Arunabha Ghosh, Founder and CEO, Council on Energy, Environment and Water

• Ken Haig, Head of Energy and Environmental Policy Asia-Pacific, Amazon Web Services

• Peta Olesen, Director, Net Zero Innovation, International Climate and Energy Division, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, Australian Government

• Yaxi Han, Principal, Jiangsu CID Operation Management Co., Ltd.

• Divya Sharma, Executive Director, India, Climate Group

• Joojin Kim, Founder and CEO, Solutions for Our Climate

• Sharan Burrow, Former General Secretary, International Trade Union Confederation

• Nick Smith, Executive Director, Growth & Low Carbon, South Australian Department for Energy and Mining

• Dr Steve Howard, Vice Chair Sustainability, Temasek

• Helen Clarkson, CEO, Climate Group

• Ivy Kuo, PwC Asia Pacific ESG Leader, PwC China

• Marat Zapparov, CEO, Pentagreen Capital

Peta Olesen, Director, Net Zero Innovation, International Climate and Energy Division, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, Australian Government

To ensure the net zero transition works for everyone, a just transition is vital. Our next session focused on just that with Sharan Burrow, Former General Secretary, International Trade Union Confederation putting the challenge succinctly saying, “if people are not consulted at the beginning, included in the conversation, then there will be resistance to changes”.

The final Spotlight Session focused on what comes next – where do we go from here? Moderated by Dr Steve Howard, Vice Chair Sustainability at Temasek, the panel included Ivy Kuo, PwC Asia Pacific ESG Leader, PwC China and Marat Zapparov, CEO, Pentagreen Capital. Looking ahead to big events like the G20 and COP28, the panel discussed the bold action that’s needed from leaders in business and government to reach our climate goals. For Ivy, “the sense of urgency everyone recognises. But action is lacking”.