Was it really a historic agreement at the COP28 climate summit? And what will help companies meet their climate targets?

The highly-attended Race to Zero Working Group on 7 March, hosted by the Bay Zoltán Research Centre, raised a number of exciting questions.

First, Dr Barbara Botos, Ambassador at Large for Climate of Energy Ministry, reported on the COP28 Climate Summit, which she of course attended. She confirmed that a historic agreement has indeed been reached with the decision on transition away from fossil fuels, but that much remains to be done to really achieve climate neutrality. Her presentation gave participants an overview of the achievements and challenges ahead.

On behalf of the Bay Zoltán Research Centre, Péter Chrabák, Head of the Circular Economy Research Unit, first presented the company’s unique research activities focused on sustainability, ranging from materials science, agriculture and energy to waste.

Dr. Ádám Vida, the company’s division director, presented projects that specifically enable the reduction of carbon emissions, including synthetic fuels, green steel and a new generation of materials for battery cells.

Afterwards, Andrea Nagy, BCSDH‘s Race to Zero project manager, spoke about this year’s programme plan and presented the newly published “CEO Guide to Climate-Related Corporate Performance and Accountability System (CPAS)“, a publication developed by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, which is the missing link between the financial system and business transformation on climate change.

The event was chaired and moderated by Irén Márta, Director of BCSDH.