COP26 Perspectives Series

Presentations

Clifford Chance ran a COP26 Perspectives Series which introduced and explored the campaign themes and related topics of the COP26 summit held in November 2021 in Glasgow. The series shed light on the history and context of the annual UN COP climate change discussions, and examined what we can expect this year both in and outside the formal meetings, and how policy outcomes may translate into practical implications and opportunities for global businesses.

Please click here to view the full webinar programme.

Previous webinars

COP26 Perspectives Series: Session Ten – COP26 – did it deliver? (November 2021)

Now that COP26 is over, Clifford Chance partners Roger Leese, Angela McEwan, Olamide Oladosu, Cheng Li Yow, Thomas Voland and Paul Koppel reflected on whether it met expectations and assessed what to look for next.

COP26 Perspectives Series: Session Nine – Electric vehicles: Low-carbon mobility – getting to net-zero (November 2021)

Consumer uptake of electric vehicles is taking off, but so is the realisation that lower exhaust emissions alone won’t deliver ‘net zero’. The overall carbon footprint of vehicle and battery production is coming under increasing scrutiny, with implications for extractive industries, energy production and transmission, and alternative fuel sources such as hydrogen. Our experts examined how net zero is most likely to be achieved.

COP26 Perspectives Series: Session Eight – The future of cities (October 2021)

Achieving net zero has huge implications for our daily lives and our urban environments. In this session, Bernice Lee (Hoffmann Distinguished Fellow for Sustainability and Research Director, Futures at Chatham House), Tina Paillet (Senior Vice President of RICS and Co-Founder of Circotr@de) along with Clifford Chance Partners Matt Taylor, Chinwe Odimba-Chapman and Daniel Royle discussed what future cities might look like around the world, investigated the role of technology, considered potential investment opportunities and explored what this means for the workforce of the future.

COP26 Perspectives Series: Session Seven – Adaptation and resilience (October 2021)

One of the goals of COP26 is to help communities adapt to climate change. We welcomed speakers from IFC, Swiss Re and M&G plc alongside panellists from Clifford Chance to discuss the challenges that lie ahead and examined how development banks, the insurance industry, asset owners and regulators are proposing to foster adaptation and resilience.

COP26 Perspectives Series: Session Six – Mobilising finance – the third COP26 goal (October 2021)

The financial sector is being called upon to facilitate and encourage the trillions in private finance needed to achieve net zero targets and to take more account of climate in financial decision-making and regulation. Meeting the challenge of securing US$100bn in climate finance each year from developed countries is high on the agenda. We examined what this might mean in practice for COP26 and why and how the financial sector is regarded as pivotal to arresting climate change.

COP26 Perspectives Series: Session Five – EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (September 2021)

In July 2021, the European Commission published a proposal for a new carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) to address the issue of carbon leakage from products produced outside the European Union. Clifford Chance experts Dan Neidle, Mathias Elspaß, Gail Orton, Nigel Howorth and Janet Whittaker considered the design of CBAM, its ramifications for different sectors (in the EU and abroad), the likelihood of a challenge at the WTO and whether other jurisdictions will follow suit.

COP26 Perspectives Series: Session Four – The challenges of energy transition (June 2021)

What are the challenges facing the implementation of the energy transition needed to limit climate change in line with the 2016 Paris Agreement? In this webinar, our panel featuring Karina Ng of Shell Renewables and Energy Solutions along with Clifford Chance partners James Pay, Delphine Siino Courtin and Olamide Oladosu considered these challenges from a range of different perspectives, and shared their thoughts on how to achieve the pace and breadth of change required.

COP26 Perspectives Series: Session Three – China’s opening-up and green agenda (June 2021)

China’s 14th five-year plan suggests that the country will remain committed to sustainable development over the next five years. In this session we discussed China’s Green agenda, what China’s Green commitments mean for business and how the increasing foreign ownership of Chinese assets will help introduce the international standards on ESG.

COP26 Perspectives Series: Session Two – Trade and climate change (June 2021)

Businesses are increasingly seeking opportunities to reduce the emissions intensity of their supply chains in order to achieve net zero targets. At the same time, governments are exploring a range of domestic and international policy options for accelerating the transition to a more sustainable economy – particularly in the lead up to COP26 in Glasgow. Our panel explored some of the barriers faced by businesses seeking to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, and the role that international trade and regulatory policy can play in alleviating these barriers.

COP26 Perspectives Series: Session One – Nature (May 2021)

In this webinar, Martin Berg, Head of Natural Capital Impact Strategy at HSBC Pollination; Robert Spencer, Business Line Director, ESG at AECOM Europe; and Clifford Chance lawyers Roger Leese, Deborah Zandstra, Daniel Drabkin and Lily Marcel looked at nature-based solutions and the crucial role that nature plays, not only in combating climate change, but also in sustaining healthy life, nutritious diets and national economies.

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