H.E. Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, UAE Special Envoy for Climate Change, and Chairman, Masdar, United Arab Emirates
H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco, Head of State, Principality of Monaco
Making water sustainable presents two major challenges, which need immediate attention at a global scale: Making clean water available to all and decarbonizing the water sector. This session will shed light on how to ensure the world has a sufficient supply of potable water as well as investigate how new technologies can support the efforts to decarbonize the water sector.
H.E. Eng. Awaidha Murshed Ali Al Marar, Chairman, Abu Dhabi Department of Energy, United Arab Emirates
Creating and implementing systemic solutions to hunger globally will require out-of-the-box thinking and innovative and scalable technology. Part of the solution is also about multiple stakeholders coming together, including governments, international organizations, and businesses. How do we create impact, fast?
Manus Cranny, Bloomberg
H.E. Mariam bint Mohammed Saeed Hareb Almheiri, Minister of State for Food and Water Security, Government of the United Arab Emirates
Dr. Agnes Kalibata, Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for the 2021 Food Systems Summit
The COVID-19 pandemic is causing strain for local, regional and global food security systems and, at the same time accelerating the change in consumer preferences towards healthier and sustainably produced food. On this backdrop, assessing the potential of new food production technology to alleviate global hunger and meet changing consumer demand is more important than ever.
Alzbeta Klein, Director General, International Fertilizer Association
H.R.H Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, KBW Ventures, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Max Rye, Chief Strategist, TurtleTree Labs, Singapore
Gabrielle "Ellie" Rubenstein, Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Manna Tree, United States of America
David Rosenberg,
Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder, Aerofarms, United States of America
In the light of the pandemic, will the fast growth of city living continue, or will (part-time) remote working and the bigger health risk of dense cities lead people to reconsider the desirability of living in the city? At the same time, new and smart technologies are being developed that will help city leaders to improve public health and sustainability in cities, including solar energy storage and micro-grids for equitable energy access for all city inhabitants. What will the city of tomorrow look like?
Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, Chief Executive Officer, Masdar, United Arab Emirates
Michelle Moore, Chief Executive Officer, Groundswell, United States of America
H.E. Grace Fu, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment of the Republic of Singapore
Allison Dring, Chief Executive Officer, Made Of Air GmBH, Germany
Karim Tarraf, Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder, Hawa Dawa, Germany
During the pandemic the culture sector has innovated rapidly, notably being much more digitized. This offers increased potential for a wider reach of the positive social, health and well-being impact of culture, made even more evident by the lockdown and social distancing measures. Leveraging the growing digital capability within the sector, culture is also a powerful way of raising awareness about the complex challenges of sustainability.
Samia Badih, Arts & Culture Editor, The National
H.E. Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi, President, International Publishers Association, United Arab Emirates
Mamadou Kwidjim Toure, Founder and Chairman, Africa 2.0 Foundation, Cameroon
Space is the backbone of digitization and as such offers a wealth of data-driven insights on many of today’s global challenges. Specifically, how does data from space support researchers in exploring how COVID 19 lockdown measures impact the environment, and what are the longer-term lessons about how the current (and potentially changing) human behavior impacts the environment? Through new ways of using Earth-observing data, we can gain a better understanding of regional-to-global environmental, economic, and societal impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, in areas such as food security, fire ecology, and urban surface heat. In turn, Earth observation data can shed light on how the environment affects the spread of the virus.
Hadley Gamble, Anchor, CNBC
Fahad Al Mheiri, Acting Executive Director - Space Sector, United Arab Emirates Space Agency
Camille Fournier, Aspiring ESA Astronaut and Mars Walker, France
Johann-Dietrich Wörner, Director General, European Space Agency
During the working week, a big part of the world's population usually spends all day away from home, being instead in their workplaces. During COVID-19, this is no longer the case, and some predict that returning full-time to the workplace is unlikely to ever happen. This means that the future home will need to be more versatile in its functionalities, as it will for many also be their place of work. It also means we will consume more energy, and possibly over time, we will have bigger homes. The promise of renewables and new technology to change the way we power our homes and embrace sustainable living therefore becomes even more important.
Dr. Rachel Armstrong, Professor of Experimental Architecture, Newcastle University, United Kingdom, Visiting Professor, KU Leuven, Belgium
Pierre-André de Chalendar, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Saint-Gobain, France
Glen Finkel, Co-Founder, PURETi/Toledo Solar/Aquom, United States of America
Chris Hulatt, Founder, Octopus Group, United Kingdom
An open discussion with the Founder & Chief Technology Officer of Virgin Hyperloop on what it is like to be the first human passenger to ride the Hyperloop and how to bring radical technologies to market.
Omar Butti, Presenter, United Arab Emirates
Josh Giegel, Co-Founder & Chief Technology Officer, Virgin Hyperloop, United States of America
The aviation industry is making great strides to become more sustainable and is looking to increase fuel efficiency and introduce biofuels. However, to become carbon neutral, radical changes are necessary. This session will explore what the aviation industry can do to decarbonize.
Tony Douglas, Group Chief Executive Officer, Etihad Aviation Group, United Arab Emirates
Jasim Husain Thabet, Group Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director, Taqa, United Arab Emirates
H.R.H. Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Saudi Space Commission
Musabbeh Al Kaabi, Chief Executive Officer, UAE Investments, Mubadala Investment Company, United Arab Emirates
There are still big parts of the economy that do not have a clear line of sight to zero. They do not yet have the tools or processes they need, at competitive prices. How can innovation help these sectors leapfrog into the net-zero era? Once the technological breakthrough has been achieved, the race is on to get funding for fast-scale roll-out. How to convince investors and customers alike to be early adopters when there are low-price alternatives?
Bill Gross, Founder and CEO, Heliogen, Founder and Chairman, Idealab, United States of America
COVID-19 is an unprecedented global health challenge and SDG 3, which aspires to ensure health and well-being for all including a bold commitment to end the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and other communicable diseases by 2030, has taken a battering. The emergency state of global public health calls for new solutions, and a lot rides on Artificial Intelligence providing new oxygen to human health.
Charles-Edouard Bouée, Managing Partner, Alpha Intelligence Capital, Hong Kong
Judit Giró Benet, Co-Founder & CEO, The Blue Box, United States of America
Hila Goldman-Aslan, CEO & Co-Founder, DiA Imaging Analysis, Israel
Ashish Koshy,
CEO, G42 Healthcare, United Arab Emirates
Dr. Ali Parsa, Chief Executive Officer & Founder, Babylon, United Kingdom
During the pandemic, the power of persuading citizens to follow rules and guidelines for safe behavior became a key factor in containing contagion. How can we apply the lessons learned to the challenge of climate change and sustainability?
Souad Jamal AlSerkal, Vice President of Strategic Communications, Tabreed, United Arab Emirates
Sir Martin Sorrell, Chairman, S4 Capital, United Kingdom
Rt Hon Alok Sharma MP, COP26 President, United Kingdom
COP26 has been postponed by a full year, which could be seen as a serious risk of delaying the attainment of national climate-related commitments. There is an expectation that countries will be keen to steer towards a recovery of their economies built on the premise of sustainability, and therein may lie a silver lining of the postponement: COP26 has the potential to kick start a new decade of high-impact climate agreements and economic growth.
Laurent Fabius, President, Constitutional Court, Former President of COP21/Paris Agreement, France
Clover Hogan, Founder & Executive Director, Force of Nature, United Kingdom
Francesco La Camera, Director-General, International Renewable Energy Agency
How does an oil company become sustainable, and what does responsible oil and gas production look like when aligned with the United Nation’s (UN) Sustainable Development Goals on responsible consumption and production, climate action, protecting biodiversity, and enhancing economic opportunity?
Eithne Treanor, CEO, E Treanor Media
Dr. Alan Nelson, Chief Technology Officer, ADNOC, United Arab Emirates
Junk Kouture challenges the world’s emerging designers and artists to envision, create and model high-end couture from everyday junk. How can such a competition be used to inspire creativity and sustainability?
Stephen Shortt, CEO, ETC Consult, Ireland
Katie Brill, Vice President PR & Communications, Junk Kouture, Ireland
Caoimhe Lowry, Student, Designer, Blinded by Perfection, Ireland
Grace Maher, Student, Tullow Community School, Designer, Element 13, Ireland
With most of the world’s leading emitters now actively pursuing carbon neutrality, and the incoming US administration planning to commit the US to decarbonization by 2050, Prof. Sachs sees the makings for a truly green and digital global recovery and era of sustainable development. More than ever before, global cooperation is needed, to set shared goals and regulations, develop and deploy new technologies, and to scale up the financing of green and digital development. Prof. Sachs will discuss what we should do globally, and what each region should do, to ensure that all parts of the world join in and benefit from the new trajectory of sustainable development.
Simon Birkebæk, Partner, BCG
Prof. Jeffrey D. Sachs, President, UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, UN SDG Advocate, and Director, Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, United States of America
National resilience strategies have taken on an entirely new meaning, encompassing now, in addition to climate change and sustainability also pandemic preparedness. Social, economic and environmental stability are all key objectives. National plans to accelerate the green transformation are vital drivers and must permeate all industries and drive all investment decisions at the national level - and ideally also at the level of regions.
Kathy Baughman McLeod, Senior Vice President & Director, The Adrienne Arsht – Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center, United States
Dr. Angela Wilkinson, Secretary General & CEO, World Energy Council
Ekhosuehi Iyahen, Secretary General, Insurance Development Forum (IDF)
Juma AlHameli, Senior Executive Director - Strategy & Business Development, ADGM, United Arab Emirates
The pandemic has revealed that sustainable investing is a necessity and not an option, with investors now seizing the opportunity to transform business. Based on the premise that ESG makes business and environmental sense, groups such as Net-Zero Asset Alliance, representing $5.0 trillion assets under management, have boldly committed to delivering a transition their investment portfolios to net-zero GHG emissions by 2050. In parallel, youth are making their voices heard. Is this the beginning of the end of money and climate interests being incompatible? What are investors expecting from corporate leaders?
Frederick Kempe, President & Chief Executive Officer, Atlantic Council, United States of America
H.E. Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, Managing Director & Group Chief Executive Officer, Mubadala Investment Company, United Arab Emirates
Laurence Fink, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, BlackRock, Inc., United States of America
How are corporate leaders integrating ESG as part of how they manage their businesses, both short-term and long-term. What are the challenges of implementing ESG and the key debates about its use in the boardroom?
Eithne Treanor, CEO, E Treanor Media
Dr.-Ing. Christian Bruch,President and Chief Executive Officer, Siemens Energy AG, Germany
Environmental pledges have not always been seen to drive growth and returns. With more banks and businesses setting ambitious net-zero goals in the run-up to COP26, is there any trade-off between sustainability and prosperity – or does the transition to net-zero open up new opportunities for innovation and commercial growth? How can banks bring together stakeholders, and harness technology, to accelerate the pace of the net-zero transition? What role did COVID-19 play in focusing attention on sustainability as a key business goal?
Danny Sebright, President, US-UAE Business Council, United States of America
H.E. Dr. Tariq Bin Hendi, Director General, Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO), United Arab Emirates
Environmental pledges have not always been seen to drive growth and returns. With more banks and businesses setting ambitious net-zero goals in the run-up to COP26, is there any trade-off between sustainability and prosperity – or does the transition to net-zero open up new opportunities for innovation and commercial growth? How can banks bring together stakeholders, and harness technology, to accelerate the pace of the net-zero transition? What role did COVID-19 play in focusing attention on sustainability as a key business goal?
Mina Al-Oraibi, Editor-in-Chief, The National, United Arab Emirates
Noel Quinn, Group Chief Executive Officer, HSBC Holdings plc, United Kingdom
The stark reality of the global pandemic has put further emphasis on the importance of resilience in business operations and supply chains. ‘Business as usual’ is no more, and top CEOs are implementing ambitious strategies to become net-zero through scalable, cross-industry and cross-company initiatives. A growing number of the world’s biggest companies have identified 2030 as the target year for becoming carbon-neutral and are making it an integral part of their business strategy, in many cases using Science-Based Targets.
Bruno Bensasson, EDF Group Senior Executive Vice President, Renewable Energies, Chief Executive Officer, EDF Renewables, France
Andrew Sollinger, Publisher, Foreign Policy, United States of America
Brad Bao, Co-Founder & Chairman, Lime, United States of America
Dr. Lucas Joppa, Chief Environmental Officer, Microsoft, United States of America
Anne Chassagnette, Chief Sustainability Officer, ENGIE Group; CEO of the Impact Fund Rassembleurs d’Energie, France
Many people have observed that the countries dealing most effectively with the COVID-19 crisis are led by women, leading to a debate about how to unlock the potential of women as leaders of complex, global challenges: What are great companies, governments and international organizations doing to empower, inspire and enable women to play an active role in lifting global challenges such as sustainability? How can women lead the fight against climate change? How will ESG set the stage when it comes to more transparent and structured reporting and investment?
H.E. Razan Al Mubarak, Managing Director, Environment Agency and Managing Director, Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, United Arab Emirates
Mercedes Vela Monserrate, Associate Director, International Affairs, ADGM, United Arab Emirates
Danielle Baron, Global Head of Power & Utilities, Crédit Agricole Corporate & Investment Bank, France
David Kenny,Chief Executive Officer & Chief Diversity Officer, Nielsen, LLC, United States of America
Dr. Gayle Schueller, Vice President & Chief Sustainability Officer, 3M, United States of America
Some see the COVID-19 lockdown as a crucible experience for consumers; overnight, the world witnessed the impact of significantly changed human behavior, and for a considerable period of time. It surprised, inspired, and instilled hope. Time will tell, but cautious optimists believe it will contribute to reducing the intention-action gap by helping the consumer understand systemic sustainability.
Julia Attwood, Head of Advanced Materials, Bloomberg NEF, United States of America
H.E. Stientje van Veldhoven-van der Meer, State Secretary for Infrastructure and Water Management, Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, Government of the Netherlands
Ron Gonen, Chief Executive Officer, Closed Loop Partners, United States of America
Luis Sierra, President & Chief Executive Officer, NOVA Chemicals, Canada
Giulia Chierchia, Executive Vice President, Strategy and Sustainability, bp, United Kingdom