Danish-American roundtable to discuss private and public climate action of tomorrow

18 September 2019

The climate change movement has gained serious momentum in recent years. Spearheaded by government and the private sector, more and more stakeholders are signing up to set and help meet energy and climate targets, taking more responsibility by curbing emissions and making significant investments in clean energy and sustainability measures.

“Both government and private sector action are imperative to achieving clean energy and climate goals. Governments provide the policy foundation assuring industry that investments can be made to the market size and scale that the policy has established. The private sector, in creating its own business opportunities, then brings innovation to the economy, and competition delivers value to consumers. In combination, they both drive market transformation to allow clean energy to become an everyday decision, said John Williams, Vice President in NYSERDA one of the organising partners of the event.

“Corporate and Government Climate Action – The Clean Economy in Denmark and New York” is a high-level roundtable organised by the Confederation of Danish Industry, DI Energy, Danish Cleantech Hub, State of Green and New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), which will focus on the impact and nature of the private and public sectors’ climate action commitments towards a low-carbon economy.

Showcasing initiatives

The timing is perfect. With the UN Climate Action Summit in New York City as the backdrop, the event will convene clean economy leaders from state and city governments, businesses and financial institutions – such as NY Green Bank.

“NY Green Bank exists as a part of the New York State’s comprehensive energy strategy to lean in early to emerging markets and provide financing solutions that are replicable, scalable, and ultimately attract private sector investment. It is the government’s role to implement good policies that generate market activity and enable greater private sector investment,” said Alfred Griffin, President in NY Green Bank.

Each path is different, but the idea is for participants to showcase leading collaborative initiatives for confronting and solving climate change.

One of the speakers at the event is Ditlev Engel, Denmark’s Special Envoy for Climate and Energy, and CEO of DNV GL’s Energy business: ”In my work as Denmark’s Special Envoy for Climate and Energy my main focus has been to speed up the global investments in the green transition in order to reach the climate goals. This entails creating an investment climate enabling both institutional investors and the private sector to engage and make the necessary investments. At the ‘Corporate and Government Climate Action’ event, I look forward to engage with both Danish and international stakeholders on how to create the best conditions for climate action”, he said.

Strong line-up of prominent speakers

Speakers at “Corporate and Government Climate Action – The Clean Economy in Denmark and New York” include:

Alfred Griffin, President, NY Green Bank
Alicia Barton, President and CEO, NYSERDA
Lea Wermelin, Minister of the Environment, Denmark
Frank Jensen, Lord Mayor, City of Copenhagen
Dale Bryk, Deputy Secretary for Energy and Environment, Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo
Lars Sandahl Sørensen, CEO, the Confederation of Danish Industry
Jens Birgersson, CEO, ROCKWOOL
Thomas Brostrøm, President, Ørsted North America
Flemming Besenbacher, Chairman, Carlsberg
Alzbeta Klein, Director and Global Head of Climate Business, International Finance Corporation

“Corporate and Government Climate Action – The Clean Economy in Denmark and New York” will take place in New York City on 24 September, 2019 from 11.30am to 4.30pm.

The event is by invitation only, but it is open to the press. Journalists can contact Louis Funder at [email protected].