Former Home Secretary Amber Rudd, climate scientist Michael E. Mann, and Schroders CEO Peter Harrison confirmed as keynote speakers for September's Net Zero Festival
The first wave of tickets is now available for the annual Net Zero Festival, which is set to run virtually from September 29st to October 1st, and will bring together the business leaders, investors, and policymakers who are striving to accelerate the global net zero transition.
Building on the success of the inaugural Net Zero Festival last autumn, this year's event will provide a showcase for the projects and innovations that are driving the net zero transition, as well as a unique forum in which to explore the immense challenges and opportunities associated with the green industrial revolution.
Delegates can now secure their tickets for the virtual event and check out the planned agenda for the three day broadcast, which is set to be hosted by BusinessGreen editor James Murray alongside top broadcast journalists Krishnan Guru-Murthy, Gavin Esler, and Lucy Siegle.
BusinessGreen can today reveal several of the keynote speakers for the Festival, including former Energy and Climate Change Secretary Amber Rudd, leading US climate scientist Michael E. Mann, Schroders CEO Peter Harrison, and Solar Impulse chairman and solar aviation pioneer Bertand Piccard.
They will be joined by a raft of top green business experts, such as Lanzatech CEO Jennifer Holmgren, CDP CEO Paul Simpson, and former Marks and Spencer's sustainable business director Mike Barry. Further speakers are set to be announced in the coming weeks, as part of an agenda that covers everything from net zero investment and supply chains to public engagement and the need for a just transition.
The Festival will also feature speakers, fringe events, and digital content from a raft of partners, including Schroders, ENGIE, SNC Lavalin, Bank of America, GSK, Kingspan, Boston Consulting Group, the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, Carbon Tracker, Aldersgate Group, and many, many more.
In addition, BusinessGreen is today inviting submissions for proposals for fringe events, which could be incorporated as part of the Net Zero Festival this autumn.
The main three day broadcast event will take place virtually from September 29th, but this year's Festival will additionally feature - coronavirus restrictions allowing - a VIP launch reception on September 9th and the return of the BusinessGreen Leaders Awards on September 22nd. BusinessGreen also is interested in working with partners to add further virtual or physical fringe events to the programme, alongside next week's Net Zero Nature Summit - passes for which are still available - and a Net Zero Culture Summit in October.
"With thousands of companies now committed to delivering net zero emissions and the UK set to host the critical COP26 Climate Summit this November, the Net Zero Festival could not come at a more opportune time," said BusinessGreen editor-in-chief James Murray. "We are going to bring together some of the world's foremost thinkers on what it takes to accelerate and expand the net zero transition and we'd urge business executives, investors, entrepreneurs, policymakers, and campaigners to join us in exploring how to navigate what is the defining economic, political, and technological trend of the age."
Interested parties can secure their tickets for the Net Zero Festival here, apply for a guest ticket to the Net Zero Nature Summit on May 27th here, and submit their entries to the BusinessGreen Leaders Awards here.
