Achieving net-zero: Managing the socio-economic impact of the transition

The impact of covid-19 has demonstrated just how hard it will be to deal with another global disruption such as climate change. Now, more than ever, governments and businesses are waking to the urgency of climate action and the need to manage a fine balancing act: between greenhouse gas emissions and removals, between supply and demand of labour and capital, and between costs and benefits to ultimately deliver both sustainable development and economic performance. Much remains to be seen how businesses and governments assess and measure the socio-economic impacts of a transition to net-zero. 

Significant investments will be allocated to specific industries such as new, clean technology and low emission vehicles. And as capital shifts, so will the workforce as new industries contract and others expand. An estimated 14 million new jobs are expected to be generated in the energy sector alone by 2030, whilst fossil fuel production as we know it could lose 5 million positions. 

What are the short- and long-term social and economic costs of a net-zero transition? How can governments and companies ensure that the shift to a low-carbon economy is inclusive and fair, and doesn’t leave anyone behind? What would an abrupt decarbonisation process look like and how would it affect quality of life, access to basic needs and services, such as food, shelter, education and employment? How can organisations reskill and upskill their workforce to be better equipped and adaptive to change? And how are companies measuring and managing these risks and opportunities and embedding these new strategies into all key businesses? 

During this one hour panel discussion hosted by an Economist Group editor, we will explore how organisations can identify and analyse the socio-economic impacts of a transition to a net-zero economy in order to better manage risks and capitalise on emerging opportunities.

Speakers

• Simone Abram, professor in anthropology and co-director of the Durham Energy Institute, Durham University
• Akiko Yamamoto, ‎regional team leader, Asia and the Pacific, for the nature, climate and energy team, United Nations Development Programme
• Rajat Gupta, senior partner, McKinsey
• Valerie Speth, managing director, Renewable Power Group, Asia Pacific, BlackRock
• Moderator:  Simon Cox, emerging markets editor and senior economics writer, The Economist

To register, please click here.