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Sustainability represents a core challenge and opportunity for businesses and governments around the world. Strategies for strengthening sustainability vary widely across sectors and geographies. The unifying principles of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris agreement, however, are increasingly embedded in shareholder expectations and corporate strategies through the UN Principles for Responsible Investment and the Task Force for Climate Disclosure.

The Covid-19 pandemic is reinforcing the focus on sustainability, fueling stakeholder challenges to "build it back better" and growing investor and public scrutiny of corporate resilience in areas from worker health and safety to supply chain resilience amid the global public health disaster. Markets and industry are moving quickly, putting pressure on governments and regulators to keep pace. With new Nationally Determined Contribution climate plans required by the Paris agreement, and with major economies from Japan to the EU and China committing to economy-wide carbon-neutral goals, the pressure to establish sector-level decarbonization policy frameworks is intensifying. Governments and businesses alike are confronting the challenges of short-term recovery from the Covid-19 shock with the longer-term low carbon transition and growing stakeholder focus on sustainability performance. Whether these goals are in conflict, or whether they can be aligned in a mutually reinforcing manner, will be the key focus of our panel discussion.

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Guiding Questions

Green stimulus measures are proliferating, especially in the EU. What is the view from business on how these programs can be most effective, and what should be avoided?

How should investors measure performance on sustainability and climate at the country and company level? Are current systems adequate, and if not, what should be done to improve them?

The COP26 meeting has been delayed by Covid-19, but expectations are high for when it finally happens next year. What are the chances for success given geopolitical tensions and the GZERO dynamics of rising populism and regionalism, coupled with the weakening institutions of global governance?

The UN Sustainable Development Goals include a strong focus on climate but also on key issues of public health, energy, poverty, education, and other social issues. Should ESG investors be doing more in this area?

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