World’s leading finance innovators to outline new mission for finance at Europe’s top climate innovation summit

‘Mission Finance’ – the mission critical opportunities for collaboration and systemic impact of finance for climate action – is the focus of this year’s Climate Innovation Summit, 6-8 November in Dublin.

The annual event convened by EIT Climate-KIC, Europe’s main climate innovation agency, is open to the public and brings together its growing public-private knowledge and innovation community, spanning 27 countries and over 330 partners across research, business, government and higher education.

Since 2010 the community has brought 367 new products and services to market and leveraged over €2.5 billion in climate funding.

New partnerships

New partnerships including those with the EU’s Mission Innovation project and the UN’s Financial Centres for Sustainability Network (UNFC4S) will be announced at the Summit.

Dublin sustainable finance hotspot

The Summit will be held in the emerging green business hub Dublin, host to the EU Hub of the UN’s FC4S Network. 

An EU Hub for the UN’s FC4S

The hub, supported by an investment of €1.5 million from EIT Climate-KIC, will be launched at the event by Sustainable Nation Ireland and Ireland’s Minister of Finance on 7 October 2018. Among the network’s tasks will be to  develop a common European assessment tool to evaluate climate and sustainability credentials for financial centres. EIT Climate-KIC supported the development of the world’s first green benchmark for financial centres, the tool at the centre of this initiative.

Supporting investors through Mission Innovation

EIT Climate-KIC has partnered with Mission Innovation, the global initiative of 23 countries and the European Union to dramatically accelerate decarbonisation through innovation. The summit will feature the launch of a framework to help investors and funders identify solutions and technologies with significant potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in society, so-called avoided emissions.

Other highlights

The Climate Innovation Summit 2018 programme will include a high-level panel on sustainable finance frameworks to ‘unlock the trillions’.

Confirmed speakers include leading economists and researchers Mariana Mazzucato, Cameron Hepburn and Ben Caldecott, politicians and policymakers including European Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič, and MEP and sustainable finance rapporteur Molly Scott-Cato, as well as pioneers such as Dennis Pamlin, RISE/Mission Innovation.

The summit is intended to make space for truly fresh perspectives on sustainable finance, while leveraging the innovation capacity of EIT Climate-KIC’s public-private partnership – showcasing innovative start-ups, solutions and partnerships, and through deep dives, workshops, pitching and networking sessions

Finance-focused sessions will cover everything from risk disclosure to physical risk for asset managers, landscape financing, infrastructure financing and a new open environmental standard. The European Investment Bank, Mirova, Achmea, Convergence, BNP Paribas, Gold Standard, CDP, Southpole Group, Carbon Delta and ISS Ethix will be among those sharing their insights and expertise.

Media partner Environmental Finance will support the event with a bespoke content hub including features and interviews with key speakers, and access to the site for all registered attendees. The content hub will launch on Monday 10 September featuring an interview with EIT Climate-KIC CEO Kirsten Dunlop.

Sustainable finance gathering momentum

Sustainable finance is gathering momentum, with efforts focused on moving it into the mainstream. In March 2018, The European Commission unveiled its action plan on sustainable finance with a roadmap to help EU drive the estimated €180bn of investment needed every year to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 40 per cent by 2030.

Registration for the Climate Innovation Summit 2018 is now open. Visit www.climateinnovationsummit.org for more details.