COP30 in Belém, Brazil - Wagner Meier/Getty Images
Catalysts for climate transition
A ton of CO2 emitted or removed has the same atmospheric effect regardless of location. With finite resources, an efficient path to Global Net Zero requires channeling finance to the lowest present cost per ton of avoided or captured emissions.
This session presents three practical catalysts to operationalise that principle across firms, sectors, and jurisdictions:
- standards and institutions for credible carbon markets (including forest carbon),
- a climate coalition design that aligns carbon pricing and trade while protecting competitiveness and broadening participation, and
- an integrated forest–climate architecture that rewards standing forests, halts deforestation, and scales restoration.
Jose Scheinkman
Charles and Lynn Zhang Professor of Economics, Columbia University
Rohini Pande
Henry J. Heinz II Professor of Economics and Director of the Economic Growth Center, Yale University
Robin Burgess
Director, IGC and Professor of Economics, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
Catherine Wolfram
William Barton Rogers Professor of Energy Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Juliano Assunção
Associate Professor, PUC-RioThe event will propose the next steps to:
- Present a unified framework for measurement, accounting, risk management, and verification to ensure integrity and trust in carbon markets.
- Introduce a pragmatic climate coalition model coordinating sectoral carbon price floors and border measures to reduce leakage and scale ambition.
- Set out a fit-for-purpose forest finance architecture linking REDD+, the Tropical Forests Forever Facility (TFFF), and a new Reversing Deforestation Mechanism (RDM) to unlock high-integrity removals via restoration.
- Align partners on pilots, governance, MRV/safeguards packages, and financing pathways for 2026 delivery.