On Tuesday, 27 June 2023, Deloitte Luxembourg hosted its annual MOMENTUM Conference at its premises in Gasperich. With a continued focus on the transition to a low-carbon economy, the conference brought together a diverse section of speakers across sectors and captivated over a hundred participants throughout the afternoon.

“MOMENTUM aims to encourage climate action from players across society and the market, including businesses, non-profit organizations, research institutions, and individuals,” says Francesca Messini, Partner and Sustainability Leader at Deloitte Luxembourg. “To achieve this goal, we brought together diverse minds – both on stage and in the audience – to ensure that sustainability is well integrated into all sectors of our public and economy. Creating such a space for cross-sector collaboration not only enables the exchange of ideas and knowledge, but it is also key to developing new sustainable strategies tailored specifically to Luxembourg.”

The conference explored how businesses can come together and tackle current and anticipated consequences of climate change, highlighted by alarming reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on climate Change (IPCC). The triple challenge of climate change —to mitigate, adapt, and repair— must be tackled simultaneously by the public and private sectors to meet the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.

Of great impact was the speech of Sébastien Raoux, lead author at the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC): “Ten years ago, I decided to dedicate my time and energy to help people and organizations reduce their environmental footprint. If we want to succeed in this fight against climate change, we need cooperation. To make this sustainable journey happen, we all must reflect on the way we travel, the way we live, and the way we do business.

Raoux also stressed the importance of educating people on the outcome and benefits of taking actions and how to adapt: “Climate change and the greenhouse gas emissions will still be here in 10, 20, 30 years because of inertia, and the earth will get warmer and warmer. That is why we have to adapt.” 

The agenda focused on the risks that we run if adaptation efforts are not scaled rapidly enough. Furthermore, the conference emphasized the importance of our local market as one of the main actors in policymaking, strategy development, and operational procedures for sustainability.

In addition to addressing the main trends and unexplored needs related to climate change adaptation, MOMENTUM also featured the role of new and emerging technologies in the green transition. Conference speakers explored green hydrogen solutions, technologies for carbon offsets and climate change mitigation, and the consequent need to mobilize sufficient financing.

Join the conversation. Join the MOMENTUM, don’t wait until it’s “too late”: https://www.deloitte.com/global/en/issues/climate.html?icid=top_climate

A Green Business Event

In the spirit of sustainability, MOMENTUM has been certified as a pilot event within the framework of the Green Business Events project by the Ministry of Economy’s General Directorate for Tourism. More information can be found on www.greenbusinessevents.lu.

Momentum 2023 – Deloitte Luxembourg

Opening speech: John Psaila, Managing Partner at Deloitte Luxembourg
Master of Ceremonies: Manon Loison, Head of Strategy & Consulting at VIA MEDIA Creative Partners
Closing speech: Francesca Messini, Sustainability Leader at Deloitte Luxembourg

Speaker line-up and moderators in the order of appearance:

• Benjamin de Molliens (Objective Zero)
• Gerrit Sindermann (Green Finance Alliance)
• Tsvetelina Kuzmanova (E3G)
• Fabrice Testa (Maana Electric)
• Laetitia Georgel (IMS)
• Alessandra Nibbio (Blue Orchard)
• Louise Baker (UNCCD)
• Laetitia Hamon (Luxembourg Stock Exchange)
• Isabelle Delas (LuxFlag)
• Sebastien Raoux (IPCC)
• André Weidenhaupt (Ministère de l’Environnement, du Climat et du Développement durable)
• Mette Grangaard Lund (International Labour Organisation)
• Stefano Battiston (Zurich University)
• Nicoletta Centofanti (LSFI)
• Patrick Muller (Panelux S.A.)
• Carlo Hein (Ramborn)
• Marion Rory (Deloitte Luxembourg)