Net Zero & Nature Positive Theatre (Keynote)

Fireside Chat: Collective Action in a Connected World

Day 2 : 14:05 – 14:30

Full Programme
Net Zero & Nature Positive Theatre (Keynote)

As the UN’s High-Level Climate Action Champion for Cop 26, Nigel Topping’s role was to strengthen collaboration and drive change across all sectors and facilitate the conversation between businesses and governments. Join Nigel in this fireside chat as he discusses the collective action, collaboration, and innovation to address the scale and complexity of the climate crisis. He will highlight the importance of working across sectors, industries, and regions to mobilise action and create positive shift in our mindset. He will also discuss the importance or engaging and empowering individuals and communities to act on climate change.

Learnings

  • How critical is it for us to work together as the business community to overcome the significant and real issues caused by climate change?
  • What challenges are there pushing collaborations and what has been accomplished so far?

Post-event Actions

  • Understand the urgency of the climate crisis and the necessity to collectively fight to overcome it.
  • Develop an understanding on what tools or processes have been the most successful in strengthening collaborations across sectors.

Speakers

Prof. Christine Loh

Division of Environment and Sustainability, HKUST

Chief Development Strategist, Institute for the Environment

Professor Christine Loh is Chief Development Strategist at the Institute for the Environment, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. She is a leading voice on public policy, climate governance and sustainable development in Hong Kong, with experience spanning government, the legislature, think tanks, business and academia. Loh was Under Secretary for the Environment in the HKSAR Government from 2012 to 2017, where she worked on air quality, climate change, energy, nature conservation and stakeholder engagement. She also served as Special Consultant to the Chief Executive’s Office on ecological civilization and the Greater Bay Area from 2019 to 2020. Earlier in her career, she was a Member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council. At HKUST, Professor Loh focuses on climate policy, sustainability transitions, green finance, governance and regional cooperation. She is also a published author and frequent commentator on environmental policy, climate risk, China and Hong Kong affairs. She currently serves on the board of Towngas Smart Energy, and is Scholar in Residence at Asia Society Hong Kong from 2023 to 2026.

Speaking at 2026 sessions:

Day 1

The Men in Black Session : Three Scientists. Three Systems. One Planet. Part IV: Moderated Discussion

Day 2

From Mission to Policy to Action: Aligning Hong Kong’s First Five-Year Plan with National Goals

Nigel Topping

UN High Level Climate Champion COP26

Nigel Topping, CMG was appointed by the UK Prime Minister as UN Climate Change High Level Champion for COP26. In this role Nigel mobilized global private sector and local government to take bold action on climate change, launching the Race To Zero and Race To Resilience campaigns and, with Mark Carney, the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero. Nigel is now a global advisor to governments, financial institutions and private companies on climate and industrial strategy

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