Program 

  • Sept 13, 2024

    Friday, September 13, 2024
    (UBC Robson Square Theatre, 800 Robson St, Vancouver)

    8:15 – 8:45 Registration & Light Breakfast
    8:45 – 9:00 Opening Remarks,  Basma Majerbi & Kookai Chaimahawong

    9:00 – 9:55

    Panel 1: Catalyzing Capital: The Impact of Public Policy and Regulation on Financing the Energy Transition
    Moderator Carol Liao, Chair, Canada Climate Law Initiative, UBC
    Speakers o   Franziska Niegemann, Director, Risk Surveillance & Analysis, BC Financial Services Authority
    o   Geordie Hungerford, former CEO, First Nations Financial Management Board; ISSB Special Advisor on Just Transition
    o   Jill Earthy, Chief Executive Officer, inBC

    10:00 – 10:55

    Panel 2: Accelerating Capital Flow for the Energy Transition and Climate Action: Industry Perspectives
    Moderator Jonathan Arnold, Acting Director, Clean Growth, Canada Climate Institute
    Speakers o   Jennifer Coulson, Global Head ESG, BCI
    o   Merran Smith, President, Clean Economy Canada
    o   Greg Oberti, Canada’s Energy Transition & Deals Utilities Leader, Partner, PwC
    10:55 – 11:25 Networking/Break

    11:30 – 12:30

    Keynote: Barbara Zvan
    Unlocking Sustainable Finance: Taxonomies and Disclosure as Catalysts for the Net-Zero Transition
    Moderator Basma Majerbi, Associate Professor of Finance & Director, Impact Investing Hub, University of Victoria.
    12:30-1:30 Lunch

    1:30 – 2:25

    Panel 3: Community Capital in Action: Catalyzing Energy Transition and Ecosystem Growth
    Moderator George Benson, Senior Manager, Economic Development and Market Transformation, Zero Emissions Innovation Centre (ZEIC)
    Speakers o   Alicia Dubois, Chief Investment Officer, Boann Social Impact
    o   Sara-Katherine Coxon,  Knowledge Mobilization Lead, Transition Accelerator
    o   Suzanne Faiza, Knowledge Lead,  Tapestry Community Capital
    o   Khris Singh, Advisor, Government Relations, Canadian Credit Union Association

    2:30 – 3:25

    Panel 4: Innovative Financing Mechanisms for Climate Resilience and Just Transition
    Moderator Kookai Chaimahawong, Director, Center for Climate and Business Solutions
    Speakers o   Jonathan Fowlie, Chief External Relations Officer, Vancity
    o   Monika Freyman,  Vice-President, Sustainable Investing, Addenda Capital
    o   Ujala Qadir, Director of Strategy and Programs at Climate Bonds Initiative
    3:25 – 3:55 Networking/Break
    3:55 – 4:50 ACET Special Session: Financing clean technologies in Indigenous communities: Perspectives from practitioners and academics in Canada and Indonesia
    Moderator o   Naoko Ellis, Associate Director, Clean Energy Research Centre (CERC), UBC
    Speakers o   Joel Krupa, Post Doctoral Fellow, UBC
    o   Frank Busch, Nisichawayasihk (Nee-chise-away-a-see) Cree Nation, Interim CEO, Kelso Technologies
    o   Colin Rankin, Climate and Environment Advisor, University of Waterloo FINCAPES (Flood Impacts, Carbon Pricing and Ecosystem Sustainability) Project
    4:55 – 5:25 Fire Side Chat: Featuring BC ESG Centre of Excellence
    5:30 – 7:00 Reception at the Vancouver Art Gallery

  • Sept 14th, 2024

    Saturday 14 September
    (UBC Sauder School of Business, 9th Floor, Henry Angus Building)

    8:30 – 10:00

    Session 1: ESG Integration in Investment Management and Equity Markets
    Chair Christina Atanasova (Simon Fraser University)
    Paper 1

     

    		 Climate Change Salience and International Equity Returns
    David Parsley (Vanderbilt University), Helen Popper (Santa Clara University)
    Discussant TBA
    Paper 2 Regulating ESG Disclosure
    Marina Emiris (National Bank of Belgium), Joanna Harris (University of Chicago), François Koulischer (University of Luxembourg)
    Discussant Ray Zhang (Simon Fraser University)
    Paper 3 Green Investors and Green Transition Efforts: Talk the Talk or Walk the Walk?
    Shuang Chen     (University of Melbourne)
    Discussant Paul Schure (University of Victoria)
    10:00 – 10:30 Networking/Break

    10:30 – 12:00

    Session 2: Markets for Sustainable Debt
    Chair Qianqian Du (University of Victoria)
    Paper 1 Mobilizing Firms for Climate Action: Paris Climate Agreement, National Institutions, and Corporate Green Bonds
    Yifan Wei     (Simon Fraser University), Kenneth G. Huang (National University of Singapore), Ya Gao (University of Manitoba)
    Discussant TBA
    Paper 2 “S” as Social: Global Credit Markets Responses to the Labor and Community Issues
    Iftekhar Hasan (Fordham University and Bank of Finland), Miriam Marra (University of Reading), Thomas Y. To (University of Sydney), Eliza Wu (University of Sydney), Gaiyan Zhang (University of Missouri-St. Louis)
    Discussant Khalil Esmkhani (Simon Fraser University)
    Paper 3 Bond Short Selling and Climate Risk: Evidence from the CDS market
    Madhu Kalimipalli     (Wilfrid Laurier University), Manisha Thapa (Wilfrid Laurier University), Aadhar Verma (Wilfrid Laurier University)
    Discussant Deniz Anginer (Simon Fraser University)
    12:00 – 12:45 Lunch
    Chair Jan Bena (University of British Columbia)
    12:45 – 1:15 Special Paper on Climate Finance in the Context of Canada’s Unique Industry Structure
    Challenges Achieving Energy Net Zero Targets in Canada Considering the Financial Regulatory Framework
    Victor Cardenas     (University of British Columbia, IRES), Milind Kandlikar (University of British Columbia, IRES)

    1:15 – 2:15

    Keynote address by Kelly Shue (Yale University)
    When Sustainable Investing Backfires and Strategies for Moving Forward
    2:15 – 2:45 Networking/Break

    2:45 – 3:45

    Session 3: Role of Families and Households in Green Transition
    Chair Doriana Cucinelli (University of Parma, EMEA)
    Paper 1 Green Neighbors, Greener Neighborhoods
    Christine Zhuowei Huang     (University of Texas at Dallas)
    Discussant Megan Bailey (University of Calgary)
    Paper 2 Family-Controlled Firms and Environmental Sustainability: All Bite and No Bark
    Alexander Dyck     (University of Toronto), Karl V. Lins (University of Utah), Lukas Roth (University of Alberta), Mitch Towner (University of Arizona), Hannes F. Wagner (Bocconi University)
    Discussant Jan Bena, University of British Columbia
    3:45 – 4:00 Networking/Break

    4:00 – 5:00

    Session 4: Climate Impact and Sustainability in Small Firms
    Chair Basma Majerbi (University of Victoria)
    Paper 1 Impact of Local Temperature shocks on Small Business in the U.S.
    Sudheer Chava (Georgia Tech), Manpreet Singh (Georgia Tech), Mingxun Wang (Georgia Tech)
    Discussant Alexander Vadilyev (Australian National University)
    Paper 2 Financial Frictions and Pollution Abatement Over the Life Cycle of Firms
    Min Fang (University of Florida), Po-Hsuan Hsu (National Tsing Hua University), Chi-Yang Tsou (University of Manchester)
    Discussant Jing Zhang (University of Alberta)
    5:00 – 5:05 Closing Remarks

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