AmCham China’s Social Impact Initiative (SII) recently hosted two webinars as part of our ESG Webinar Series. The dual webinars focused on important topics such as human capital and climate change. These webinars aim is to provide both members and the wider community with opportunities to enhance their knowledge on ESG.
On February 21, we were honored to be joined by Professor Bruce Usher from Columbia Business School, who is also the author of Renewable Energy: A Primer for the Twenty-First Century and Investing in the Era of Climate Change. The webinar was a huge success, with participants exchanging ideas on how we can invest in the era of climate change.
Key Takeaways from Professor Bruce Usher of Columbia Business School:
- Decarbonizing the entire economy will take 30 years and is expected to disrupt global business and change investor behavior.
- The five major trends behind climate change are physical risks, evolving social norms, policy actions from governments, technological innovation, and investor reaction.
- Renewable energy can replace current energy consumption and decarbonize almost half of global emissions at relatively low costs, but the other half will require more serious commitment and effort from both governments and businesses.
- ESG investment generates concrete returns for investors and is not just for public image building purposes.
- Climate change will impact business globally, creating winners and losers in nearly every sector. Decarbonization will alter economics and geopolitics as countries compete to dominate emerging sectors, and new market entrants and leaders have opportunities in sectors such as batteries, green hydrogen, and direct air capture technology.
At AmCham China’s SII, we are committed to promoting positive change and creating a sustainable future for all. Stay tuned for more updates on our future webinars and events. Click here to learn more about the Social Impact Initiative. For inquires about SII, contact Grace Liu at gliu@amchamchina.org
A special thank you to our 2022-2023 SII Sponsors Amazon, Cargill, Mitsubishi Corporation, Meta, Dell, Bayer, Google, and BabyCare for supporting our SII events.