Social Innovation Solutions, an organization active in the fields of sustainability, social impact and innovation, will organize the Climate Change Summit on October 4-5th 2022, at the Odeon Theatre in Bucharest, as well as other connected events at the Palace of Parliament and Victoria Palace.

The event is the first summit in our country dedicated to climate change and aims at becoming an annual benchmark event for national and European leaders in the field as well as at identifying solutions applicable at local and regional level in the field of climate policy and sustainability. Among the most important topics the Summit’s first edition will touch upon are the transition to a green economy, sustainable finance and investment, sustainable solutions in energy, agriculture and the food industry or how technologies such as AI or Blockchain can become tools able to counter the effects of climate change.

In 2021, the European Union set out to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% and achieve climate neutrality by 2050, while more than a third of Europe's largest companies have also committed to the net-zero target by 2050.

However, according to a study updated in early 2022 by the United Nations, many of the effects of global warming are already irreversible. As such, in the last two years, over 150 countries, including Romania, have published comprehensive strategies aimed at limiting their impact on the environment and slowing down the pace of climate change.

Among the 30 already confirmed Climate Change Summit speakers we can name global leaders in the field, experts and entrepreneurs such as Linda Zeilina – CEO and founder, The International Sustainable Finance Center; Mark Campanale – Founder, Carbon Tracker Initiative; Oliver Harman – Cities Economist, Oxford University; Giedrimas Jeglinskas, Assistant Secretary General for Executive Management, NATO; Tania Santivanez – Regional Officer, UN Food and Agriculture Organization.

“Even though some climate change is irreversible, we want the Climate Change Summit to contribute to another irreversible change: a new mentality of futuremaker and a community of leaders who build together sustainable solutions for the future. Digital and technological transformations, new circular and sustainable business models, a new generation of entrepreneurs for whom social impact is the new norm and the ambitions of large companies and of Europe as a whole to build a green economy give us hope for the future. Starting with October 2022, we bring to Bucharest inspiration from all over the world for a conversation truly relevant to our future”, says Ciprian Stănescu, President and CEO of Social Innovations Solutions (SIS).

During the event, the SIS team will launch the first edition of the "Climate & Sustainability Business Index", a study on the perceptions and ambitions of the business environment about the impact of climate change in Romania.

Also, on September 21-22, in the framework of Climate Change Summit platform, over 100 key actors – central and local authorities, business and civil society leaders – will participate in 8 foresight sessions on the impact of climate change in the 2030’s Romania.