The climate experts at ISS ESG have carefully reviewed hundreds of New York Climate Week 2020 events to identify trending topics and ultimately curate a list of our recommended top 20 events to help investors sort through the week’s copious program.
Background
This year’s New York Climate Week will run from 21 – 25 September. With over 130 events geared towards financial market participants alone, ISS ESG hosted a virtual roundtable on 16 September to parse and review the many sessions for attending investors. Given the accessibility of sessions online due to the pandemic, New York Climate Week will likely be the largest climate change gathering of 2020.
Let’s not forget: New York Climate Week is not geared towards the financial industry. It is at its core an event convening companies and regulators to foster the decarbonization of the global economy.
At the same time, it’s become an event for a wide range of interested participants, from civil society to business, to discuss a wide range of topics. And it’s become a platform to launch commitments, products, initiatives, and pledges. New York Climate Week 2019, for example, saw the pledge of Danish pension funds to invest almost US$50 billion into the energy transition until 2030 or the launch of the Principles or Responsible Banking with 132 initial bank signatories.
New York Climate Week 2020 will likely see a range of similar ground-breaking announcements from corporates, investors, and solution providers.
How to Navigate Climate Week
The website https://www.climateweeknyc.org/ allows for an easy search of all events and this search function is also available via the convenient New York Climate Week App in your respective App store. Looking for everything related to Net Zero targets? Just type in “Net Zero” and a range of events with this particular focus will display.
New York Climate Week is broadly clustered under 10 broad themes:
1.) Clean Energy Transition (152 events)
Topics include renewable energy, just transition, clean energy policies, decarbonization, green economic agendas, and zero-emission pledges
2.) Transport and Infrastructure (92 events)
Topics include electric vehicles (EVs), public transport, EV policy, air pollution/quality
3.) Industry and Built Environment (107 events)
Topics include heavy industry such as steel and cement, buildings, shipping
4.) Finance, Investment and Jobs (134 events)
Topics include climate finance, investment, employment opportunities, green economic recovery
5.) Food and Land Use (88 events)
Topics include agriculture, agroforestry and forests, food’s journey, food waste, regenerative farming, carbon sequestration, climate-friendly diets, land restoration, conservation
6.) Nature and Science (97 events)
Topics include ecosystems, ecological conservation, oceans, weather patterns
7.) US and International Policy (92 events)
Topics include national, subnational and local policy, U.S. elections
8.) Youth, Public Mobilization and Justice (117 events)
Topics include youth, activism, social justice, environmental justice, marches and demonstrations
9.) Sustainable Travel and Tourism (37 events)
Topics include ecotourism, sustainable and low-waste living, travel and tourism
10.) Climate Impacts and Adaptation (182 events)
Topics include impacts on livelihoods, coastal and vulnerable zone preparation, zero-waste/circular economy, building new infrastructure (flood defenses)
(Event numbers as of 16. September 2020 – new events added on a daily basis)
While finance plays a role in many of these events, it is the 134 events tagged under theme 4 “Finance, Investments and Jobs” that is most relevant for the financial community.
Trending Investor Topics
Within the events geared towards investors, ISS ESG found the following 10 key topics that we distilled further into four groups: A.) Emerging Topics B.) Drivers of Action C.) Credit & Debt D.) Trends in Analysis.
A. ) EMERGING TOPICS
1) Climate and Covid-19
2) Climate Resilience
3) Climate Lobbying (including engagement and voting)
B.) DRIVERS OF ACTION
4) The role of Regulation
5) Targets: Science Based Targets; Net Zero initiatives, Scenario analysis
6) Fossil fuels (incl Divestment)
C.) CREDIT & DEBT
7) The role of Green Bonds
8) The role of Banks (principles of responsible banking, sustainable loans, etc.)
D.) TRENDS IN ANALYSIS
9) Climate Analysis across asset classes (PE; Real Estate, Credit, etc.)
10) New models & automatic tools for investors and corporates
A quick polling at the ISS ESG virtual roundtable reveals that financial industry representatives on the webinar were most interested in the topics Climate Lobbying (including engagement and voting), Climate Analysis across asset classes (with a specific emphasis on credit portfolios) and climate targets in general and net zero targets in particular.
Below, you can find a list of events curated by the ISS ESG climate team and mapped to the identified trending topics. By right-clicking on the hyperlinks, you can find out more or register directly.
Event Recommendations by the ISS ESG Climate Team
Monday, 21 September
| Event Description | Category | Time | URL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Climate Inequity: The Role of Investors In Building Shared Resilience | Climate Resilience // Climate and Covid | 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm EST 20:00 – 21:00 CET | Overview Link Registration Link |
| Nourishing Resilience: ESG As A Tool for Sustainable Food And AG Growth | Climate Resilience | 11:00 am – 12:00 pm EST 17:00 – 18:00 CET | Overview Link Registration Link |
| Innovations In Sustainable Finance In The Covid Era | Climate and Covid | 11:00 am EST 17:00 CET | Overview Link Registration Link |
| Cop26 & The Zero Carbon Growth Agenda | Targets: Science Based Targets; Net Zero initiatives, Scenario analysis// Role of Regulation | 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm EST 18:00 – 19:00 CET | Overview Link Watch Link |
Tuesday, 22 September
| Event Description | Category | Time | URL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mitigating Climate Transition Risk In Equity Portfolios | Climate Analysis across asset classes // New models &automatic Tools | 11:00 am – 12:00 pm EST 17:30 – 18:00 CET | Overview Link Registration Email Link |
| Walking the Talk? Is there a linkage between oil &gas companies announced CO2 ambitions and their upstream project portfolio management? | Climate and Covid// Targets: Science Based Targets; Net Zero initiatives//Climate Analysis across asset classes // Fossil Fuels | 9:00 am – 10:00 am EST 15:00 – 16:00 CET | Overview Link Registration Link |
| Climate Intelligence For The Oil And Gas Industries | Climate Analysis across asset classes // Tools for investors and corporates // Targets// Fossil Fuels | 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm EST 23:00 – 00:00 CET | Overview Link Registration Link |
Wednesday, 23 September
| Event Description | Category | Time | URL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Private Sector Adaptation Finance and Nature Based Solutions | Climate Resilience //Climate Analysis across asset classes // New models & automatic Tools | 9:00 am – 10:10 pm EST 15:00 – 16:10 CET | Overview Link Registration Link |
| The Current State And Future Of TCFD Implementation – What’s Next? | Targets: Science Based Targets | 10:00 am – 11:00 am EST 19:00 – 20:00 CET | Overview Link Registration Link |
Thursday, 24 September
| Event Description | Category | Time | URL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Private Wealth Financing Sustainability Webinar | Climate Analysis across asset classes | 10:00 am – 12:00 pm EST 16:00 – 18:00 CET **Two Sessions** | Overview Link Registration Link |
| You Missed This! : The Best New Ideas In Sustainable Finance | TBD | 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm EST 22:00 – 1:00 CET | Overview Link Registration Link |
| Climate Change Within the ESG Arena | Climate Resilience //Climate Analysis across asset classes | 11:30 am – 1:00 pm EST 17:30 – 19:00 CET | Overview Link Registration Link |
Friday, 25 September
| Event Description | Category | Time | URL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Climate Investment Coalition’s Roadmap | Climate Analysis across asset classes // Targets: Net Zero initiatives, Scenario analysis | 9:00 am – 10:15 am EST 15:00 – 16:15 CET | Overview Link Registration Link |
| Aligning Corporate Lobbying With Climate | Climate Lobbying // Targets: Science Based Targets; NetZero initiatives, Scenario analysis | 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm EST 19:00 – 20:00 CET | Overview Link Registration Link |
We hope this helps you structure your week of 21 September. Enjoy the New York Climate Week!
By:
Maximilian Horster, Head of Climate Solutions, ISS ESG
Viola Lutz, Head of Investor Consulting, Climate Solutions, ISS ESG
Fikapo Gondwe, ESG Consultant, ISS ESG
