2019 Climate Science & Investment Conference

The Energy Transition

Friday, May 10, 2019
8:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

The third annual “Climate Science & Investment Conference” will examine two interrelated business trends that are of interest to the investment community, and the relationship to climate change. How will the global transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy impact the power sector’s generation of electricity? How will the transition from the internal combustion engine to electric vehicles affect the transportation sector? And, most importantly, will these two business transitions be large enough or rapid enough to change the trajectory of emissions to avoid the most dramatic impacts of climate change?

This conference — a joint effort by the Tamer Center for Social Enterprise at Columbia Business School and the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory — brings together climate scientists and business leaders to understand how new advances in climate science can inform investments in specific sectors of the global economy. The forum explores topics that address the value and opportunity of using a science-based approach to inform and guide business and investment decisions.

Participants will include leaders from the investment community, a range of business sectors, and academia.

This event is invitation only, and tickets are non-transferable. Space is limited to 100 participants. If you are interested in being added to the invitation list, please contact us.

Agenda

8:00–8:30 a.m.

Breakfast and Registration

8:30–8:40 a.m.

Welcome Remarks

Andre Bertolotti Global Head of Research and Data, Sustainable Investing  BlackRock

8:40–8:50 a.m.

The 21st Century Energy Transition

Bruce Usher Elizabeth B. Strickler ’86 and Mark T. Gallogly ’86 Faculty Director Co-director of The Tamer Center for Social Enterprise Columbia Business School View presentation

8:50–9:30 a.m.

Investments in the Renewable Energy Transition

David Giordano Managing Director, Renewable Power Group BlackRock Alternative Investors

Geoffrey Heal Donald C. Waite III Professor of Social Enterprise Columbia Business School View presentation

9:30–10:00 a.m.

The Role of Storage in the Energy Transition

Alan West Samuel Ruben-Peter G. Viele Professor of Electrochemistry; Professor of Chemical Engineering and of Earth and Environmental Engineering; Chair of Chemical Engineering Columbia University View presentation

10:00–10:30 a.m.

Coffee Break

10:30–11:10 a.m.

The Transition to Electric Vehicles

Jiong Ma Senior Partner Braemar Energy Ventures   View presentation

R.A. Farrokhnia ’04 Executive Director, Dean's Office Adjunct Associate Professor of Business, Economics Columbia Business School View presentation

11:10–11:40 a.m.

The Impact of China's Climate Policy on the Energy Transition

David Sandalow Inaugural Fellow Center on Global Energy Policy, Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs View presentation

11:40 a.m.–12:10 p.m.

Possible Climate Change Futures: Warming, Impacts, and Uncertainties

Kate Marvel Associate Research Scientist NASA GISS View presentation

12:10–12:30 p.m.

Closing Remarks

Peter deMenocal Thomas Alva Edison/Con Edison Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences; Director, Center for Climate and Life Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory; Dean of Science, Faculty of Arts and Sciences View presentation

References and Links Provided by Speakers

Andre Bertolotti

• The 3 Themes Transforming Sustainable Investing, BlackRock

Peter deMenocal

• Climate Science, Explained (with Kate Marvel), Here's the Thing

R.A. Farrokhnia ’04

• Tesla Cuts 3,000 Jobs, Bracing for an Uncertain Future, Wired

Geoff Heal

• Fighting Climate Change May Be Easier Than We Think, CNN
• What Would it Take to Reduce US Greenhouse Gas Emissions 80% by 2050?, The National Bureau of Economic Research
• Goldilocks Economies? Temperature Stress and the Direct Impacts of Climate Change, The National Bureau of Economic Research
• Uncertainty and Decision in Climate Change Economics , The National Bureau of Economic Research
• From Growth to Green Growth - a Framework, The National Bureau of Economic Research
• Tipping Climate Negotiations, The National Bureau of Economic Research
• Rising Oceans: Economics and Science

Kate Marvel

• Can Clouds Save us from Climate Change?, TED Talk
• The Hidden Importance of Clouds, Nautilus
• Will Changing Cloud Cover Accelerate Global Warming?, Scientific American
• Internal Variability and Disequilibrium Confound Estimates of Climate Sensitivity from Observations, Geophysical Research Letters
• Overestimate of committed warming, Nature
• Implications for Climate Sensitivity from the Response to Individual Forcings, Nature Climate Change

David Sandalow

• Electric Vehicle Charging in China and the United States, Columbia Center on Global Energy Policy
• Direct Air Capture of Carbon Dioxide Roadmap, Innovation for Cool Earth Forum
• Guide to Chinese Climate Policy, Columbia Center on Global Energy Policy
• A Natural Gas Giant Awakens, Columbia Center on Global Energy Policy
• The Geopolitics of Renewable Energy, HKS Working Paper
• Financing Solar and Wind Power: Lessons from Oil and Gas, Columbia Center on Global Energy Policy
• CO2 Utilization Roadmap 2.0, Columbia Center on Global Energy Policy
• The History and Future of the Clean Energy Ministerial, Columbia Center on Global Energy Policy
• Plug-In Electric Vehicles: What Role for Washington?, Brookings Institution Press
• U.S.-China Cooperation on Climate Change, Initiative for US-China Cooperation on Energy and Climate
• Freedom from Oil, Brookings Institution Press

Bruce Usher

• The PG&E Bankruptcy and the Coming Climate-related Business Failures, The New Yorker
• Reasons to Be Upbeat about Clean Energy, Ideas and Insights
• Renewable Energy: A Primer for the Twenty-First Century, Columbia University Press
• On the Heels of a Boom, a Foggier Future for Solar, Ideas and Insights
• Real Progress on Emissions Can Lead to a Global Pact, New York Times
• The U.S. as a Climate Change Leader?, The Huffington Post

Alan West

• Investigating the Complex Chemistry of Functional Energy Storage Systems: The Need for an Integrative, Multiscale (Molecular to Mesoscale) Perspective, ACS Central Science

Other References

• The Economic Risks of Climate Change in the United States National Report, Risky Business
• From Risk to Return, Risky Business