Climate and energy summit 2025

What is the outlook for leadership on climate action after a landmark year of elections? Have new champions for climate and nature emerged on the Road to COP30? How can the competing priorities at the global and national level be overcome to boost collective climate action and transformative systems change in a world of escalating conflict? What does increasing protectionism and heightened geopolitical risk mean for the implementation of ambitious and achievable climate goals going forward with the submission of updated nationally determined contributions (NDCs) in early 2025?

How feasible and/or helpful is 1.5°C as a target in a closing window of opportunity? Looking toward COP30, what are the best multilateral institutional frameworks to engage with climate challenges?  

What are some examples of the most pressing cascading climate risks and what lessons can be drawn from recent adaptation efforts? What role can insurers play in building resilience to cascading climate risk? How might decision making and leadership at the local level be fostered to support social adaptation and resilience strategies?

Which emerging technologies and infrastructural approaches can help to enable better early warning systems, risk assessment, and greater resilience in the face of escalating transboundary climate risks? How can regions avoid maladaptation?

Spotlight roundtable sessions will run concurrently. They are in-person only and will be held under the Chatham House Rule. 

How can we effectively balance water resource management with food production to ensure sustainability in the face of climate change and a global population growth? How can governments institute synergistic change in all elements of food and water systems, including value chains, from food production through to consumption, as well as environmental, health and social outcomes? What trade-offs must they navigate?

How can policies to deliver sustainable food, transport and energy systems take better account of the needs of rural communities? What else is needed to overcome the politicization of food systems transformation?How can non-state actors (businesses, academia, CSOs) best mobilise to deliver successful outcomes for food and water systems? 

Spotlight roundtable sessions will run concurrently. They are in-person only and will be held under the Chatham House Rule. 

How can policymakers create a regulatory environment that fosters innovation while ensuring sustainability and equity within future bioeconomies? What role should public and private investment play in accelerating research and development for bioeconomy innovations, and how can we ensure that these investments lead to long-term, transformative impact?

How can businesses leverage emerging bioeconomy innovations to meet both economic goals and the need for environmental resilience, and what partnerships are critical for success in this space?  

How can the development of Article 6.4 mechanisms and the scaling of VCMs bridge the climate finance gap and enhance global mitigation efforts? Are current financial systems, including VCMs, evolving fast enough to ensure the integrity, transparency, and equity of global carbon markets? How should a focus on carbon markets and Article 6.4 mechanisms be balanced with other considerations to help overcome financial challenges for emerging and developing economies, particularly around adaptation and resilience?

What more can be done to address the criticisms of VCMs and Article 6.4, ensuring they avoid greenwashing and provide real value for climate resilience? What are the lessons to build trust in the implementation of the NCQC? 

How can corporate and financial institutions effectively understand and account for evolving climate risks and environmental dependencies? What impact have renewed geopolitical tensions had on supply chain sustainability? How are drivers for corporate sustainability evolving amid political uncertainty, and what steps ensure economic incentives align with a climate-resilient future in key sectors?

What are the implications of ‘greenhushing’ for efforts to improve transparent reporting and how should this be addressed?

Is the current policy and investment environment aligned to triple the world’s installed renewable energy generation capacity to at least 11,000 GW by 2030? Is the refocusing on energy security and onshoring/friendshoring likely to help or hinder this acceleration? How should demand and supply side measures be balanced to double the global average annual rate of energy efficiency improvements to over 4% every year until 2030?

What is the role of zero and low-emission technologies, including abatement and removal technologies in keeping warming to well below 2°C?  

Held under the Chatham House Rule. 

Where are the emerging chokepoints in critical minerals processing and supply and how might these impact the pace and scale of the energy transition alongside the growth of new resource superpowers? How are national energy security and mineral sovereignty concerns shaping multilateral alliances and strategic geopolitical relationships? How are current trade tensions affecting the supply chains of critical raw materials and what strategies can countries adopt to derisk supply chains?  

What are the potential environmental and social implications of onshoring critical materials in the context of the energy transition? How does the growing demand for critical material intersect with wider conversations around climate risks, land use and agricultural policy?   

What are the risks and barriers to pursuing a pathway towards CCUS and carbon removals relative to the risks and barrier of a greater emphasis on demand side policies, efficiency and sufficiency measures? In what ways can policy frameworks enhance the effectiveness of removals technologies such as CCUS technologies, and what role does government support and investment play in their deployment? How can the effectiveness of CCUS investments be measured in terms of actual carbon reduction versus projected outcomes?

What types of efficiency measures and demand management strategies present the greatest potential for reducing emissions, and how can investments in these areas be prioritized? To what extent are CCUS and carbon removals relative to efficiency measures considered ‘outliers’ in the broader discourse on climate action and investment strategies, and how does this perception impact their adoption and funding? 

Spotlight roundtables will run concurrently. They are in-person only and will be held under the Chatham House Rule. 

What incentives can better support transparent reporting, engagement, and the alignment of asset portfolios with a pragmatic transition? 

 

Spotlight roundtables will run concurrently. They are in-person only and will be held under the Chatham House Rule. 

What are the key components to maintaining and achieving a just, orderly, and equitable transition?  

 

What does the future of climate tech look like?

Bringing together five innovators to pitch their solutions to a panel of expert respondents, this dynamic session explores the technologies supporting the next generation of climate action and decarbonization. The discussion examines policy incentives, investment needs and commercialization timelines of up-and-coming innovations and features an audience poll to decide which will deliver the greatest impact in the current policy and investment landscape. Key technologies to be discussed might include – CCUS, storage, renewables, demand management, synthetic fuels, and geoengineering.