The 16th Global Carbon Pricing Conference

BACKGROUND

According to the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), the global mean temperature from February 2023 to January 2024 has been the highest ever: 1.52°C above the 1850-1900 period. The 1.5°C threshold agreed on at the Paris COP21 is probably already reached while GHG emissions keep growing every year.

The challenge ahead is gigantic. One of the major parameters to avoid a disastrous global warming lies in the increase of carbon-free sources of energy. The two sources which are the most promising, and whose production needs and can increase at the right pace are renewables and nuclear.

This event organised in a trilateral format by the Chinese International Finance Forum, the European Task Force on Carbon Pricing and the American Paulson Institute will explore the current state of production of these two sources of energy, the obstacles to their development and what could be done in order to foster their development. Focus will be put on the price of carbon. The global responsibility of the three main economic blocks (the US, China and Europe), acting if possible in concertation, will be put in the spotlight.

14:00 – 14:15
Welcome remarks
- ZHU Xian, IFF Executive Vice President, Former Vice President of the World Bank
  Deborah Lehr, Vice Chairman and Executive Director of the Paulson Institute
  Edmond Alphandéry, Chairman of the Task Force on Carbon Pricing in Europe

14:15 – 14:25
Guest speaker:
- Peter Jungen, Co-Founder and President of the European Business Angels Network on the role of technology and of the startups microenvironment

14:25 – 15:40
Session 1 – Coping with the Dubai objective of tripling renewable capacity by 2030
- Despite major successes in some countries, China in the first place, there are still obstacles to the development of renewable energy. In Europe for example, many firms scaled back their projects due to the low price of electricity and the high level of interest rates. Part of the answer rests on the price of carbon.

14:25 – 14:35
Introduction: COP28 Tripling Renewable Capacity Pledge: the issue
- Heymi Bahar, Senior Analyst, Renewable Energy Markets and Policy at the IEA

14:35 – 14:42
Speaker for the EU:
- Nicolas Piau, Founding Partner & CEO of TiLT Capital, Member of the Siparex Executive Committee, on financial hurdles to overcome: higher interest rates coupled with a lower price of electricity

14:42 – 14:49
Speaker for China:
- XIE Tian, General Manager of Strategic Management Center, LONGi Green Energy Technology, on the role of the Chinese policy for renewables’ development

14:49 – 14:56
Speaker for the US:
- Damien Ma, Managing Director, MacroPolo think-tank of the Paulson Institute, on the state of renewables development in the US

15:40 – 16:55
Session 2 – The comeback of nuclear: its indispensable input in the fight against global warming
- There is a growing momentum for nuclear in the world. In Dubai, more than 20 countries, including the US, the UK and France, agreed to try to triple global nuclear power capacity by 2050. The importance of nuclear to fight global warming should not be underestimated. There are still major hurdles in its development. The price of carbon is certainly an important catalyst to the return of nuclear.

15:40 – 15:50
Introduction: The resurgence of nuclear power generation
- Malwina Qvist, Nuclear Program Lead at the Clean Air Task Force (CATF)

15:50 – 15:57
Speaker for the EU:
- Christian Stoffaës, Honorary General Engineer of Mines, President of Cercle des ingénieurs-économistes

15:57 – 16:04
Speaker for China:
- ZHOU Sheng, Associate Professor, Institute of Energy, Environment and Economy of Tsinghua University, on nuclear power development in China under carbon peak and carbon neutrality targets

16:04 – 16:11
Speaker for the US:
- Daniel B. Poneman, Former US Deputy Secretary of Energy and former President and CEO of Centrus Energy Corp., on a nuclear momentum in the US?