Policies for the Planet conference 2024

This free-to-attend online conference will look at the policies and projects that are delivering tangible results for people and the planet, and what we can learn from them.

In collaboration with the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership’s (CISL’s) South African arm, we’re bringing policymakers, business leaders, civil society groups and researchers together to share best practices, spark new ideas, and promote evidence-based decision-making.

Our goal is to inspire positive change, forge new connections and partnerships, and be inclusive, which is why it’s free to attend.

Speakers include the policymakers behind Uruguay, Chile and South Australia’s rapid energy transitions, Norway’s world-leading electric vehicle (EV) shift, and South Africa’s flagship just transition projects, among others.

You can register here. If you’re interested in partnering with us, please contact [email protected] for more information.

The agenda: (all times shown are GMT+2 hours; 14 March 2024)

09:30-09:45	Welcome – Nick Hedley, editor of The Progress Playbook
09:45-10:15	The critical role of rooftop solar in the energy transition. Speaker: Andrew Middleton, CEO of GoSolr
10:15-11:00	Morning keynote: Inside South Australia’s world-leading shift to wind, solar, battery storage, and green hydrogen. Speaker: Nick Smith, managing director of Global Decarbonisation Advisory and former executive director of the South Australian department of energy and mining’s growth and low-carbon unit
11:00-11:30	Advancing wind and solar adoption in Nigeria: Insights from a study by Robert Gordon University’s Prof Peter Strachan, Dr Racheal Adedokun, and Dr Anita Singh. Speaker: Dr Racheal Adedokun
11:30-12:00	How smart water heating systems can tame the solar duck curve and unleash a global rooftop solar boom. Speaker: Jon Kornik, CEO of Plentify
12:00-12:45	Midday keynote: How Uruguay got to circa 100% renewable electricity and bolstered its energy security. Speaker: Ramón Méndez Galain, Uruguay’s former national director of energy and currently executive director of Ivy, an association that works to accelerate Latin America’s clean energy transition
12:45-13:00	Break
13:00-13:30	Lessons from Norway’s rapid shift to electric vehicles. Speaker: Petter Haugneland, assistant secretary general of the Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association
13:30-14:00	How Chile is phasing out coal faster than any other developing country. Speaker: Marcelo Mena-Carrasco, CEO of The Global Methane Hub and former environment minister of Chile
14:00-14:30	What we can learn from Copenhagen’s cycling revolution. Speaker: Morten Kabell, Copenhagen’s former mayor for technical and environmental affairs
14:30-15:00	Inside South Africa’s flagship just energy transition projects. Speaker: Mandy Rambharos, vice president for global climate cooperation at the Environmental Defense Fund and former head of Eskom’s just energy transition office
15:00-15:10	Break
15:10-16:10	Panel discussion: How to accelerate the shift to clean electricity while ensuring the benefits are widely spread. Speakers: Andrew Middleton, CEO of GoSolr Chris Bellingham, head of project development at JUWI Renewable Energies (South Africa) Andy O’Brien, co-director of the Bristol Energy Cooperative Sanna Markkanen, head of policy analysis at the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) Moderator: Ramona Mohanlall, chief operating officer of RustMo1 Solar Farm (the first renewable energy independent power project to connect to South Africa’s grid, in 2013)
16:10-16:15	Closing

The Policies for the Planet conference is supported by GoSolr, JUWI Renewable Energies (South Africa), and Plentify

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