Opening Session

Wednesday, September 28
09:30 - 11:00


From climate change to a global pandemic, from social injustice to economic stress, the years 2020 and 2021 were a global wake-up call that highlighted the fragility of our world and exposed the many systemic challenges facing our society.

The world, with its significant social needs, faces daunting challenges, the resolution of which offers us new perspectives and opportunities.

The current geopolitical situation and the COVID-19 pandemic do not cancel out the trends that have emerged in the world over the past 20 years.

Governments, the research community, civil society, and the private sector will have to work together to achieve these goals. It has been estimated that the annual global investment needs could be as high as five to seven trillion US dollars.

Unfortunately, public funding and philanthropic capital are not enough to meet these needs. In the near future, private capital will play a critical role.

The objective of the Forum, in all its discussions, is to set a single common direction for long-term, successful, sustainable development, bringing together the positions of government, business, academia, and civil society with Our Common Agenda of the United Nations, to accelerate implementation of the existing global legally binding and voluntary agreements, including the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Climate Agreement.

The discussion session will include the following questions:

  • Climate change is a threat facing all of humanity;
  • Changing political, economic, and social realities create new opportunities;
  • The increasing role of private capital in the global economy transformation;
  • Personal leadership is a key driver and success factor;
  • Russia's role as a global environmental, raw material and value donor for humanity.

Moderator

Maxim Safonov

Deputy President, Russian Academy of Sciences

Speakers

Yuriy Balega

President of the Russian Science Foundation

Elena Borisenko

Deputy Chairwoman of the Management Board, Gazprombank JSC

Ruslan Edelgeriev

Advisor to the President of the Russian Federation, Special Presidential Envoy for Climate Change of the Russian Federation

Nazih Ali Elnaggary

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Arab Republic of Egypt to the Russian Federation

Viacheslav Fetisov

UN Goodwill Ambassador, Chair of All-Russian Society for Nature Conservation

Gennady Krasnikov

President of the Russian Academy of Sciences

Igor Shumakov

Head, Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring of Russia


* The Programme may be subject to change