Our Adam Smith at the COP workstream saw respected speakers from finance, business and academia discuss the economics of climate change at the University of Glasgow, where Smith himself once taught.
During the first of three evening lectures, we looked at the concept of stewardship in the climate era.
During the series, we launched our unique series The Wealth of Nations in the 21st Century, in which David Pitt-Watson (pictured) and others contributed essays updating Smith’s seminal work for the climate era.
David Pitt-Watson’s keynote examined Smith, stewardship and natural capital. Watch now.
We were delighted to welcome Jeremy Lawson of abrdn and Sebastian Burnside of NatWest Group for a Chief Economists’ Fireside, moderated by Prof. Kathleen Riach of the University of Glasgow. Watch now.
The first evening of the series concluded with Barry O’Dwyer, CEO of Royal London, who supported the workstream, discussing how mutuals are well-positioned to respond to the climate crisis. Watch now.
The second evening of the lecture series saw speakers from around the world tackle the issue of political economy in light of change, and crucially who should pay for climate action.
Prof. Sir Anton Muscatelli, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Glasgow, and one of the authors for The Wealth of Nations in the 21st Century sat down for an interview with Dame Susan Rice, Chair of the Financial Services Culture Board.
The interview looked at trade, society and climate change. Watch now.
Arunma Oteh, former World Bank Treasurer and Executive-in-residence at Oxford Foundry, The University of Oxford and Hakima El Haité, President of Liberal International, joined a hybrid fireside with GEFI’s Allan Watt. Watch now.
The second evening concluded with a keynote from Lena Wilson, Non-executive Director at NatWest Group.
The third and final event rounded off the series with a unique evening featuring a lecture and performance examining the life of Adam Smith.
Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy Kate Forbes MSP joined to deliver a keynote.
The SDG tartan ties together Scotland’s history and culture with the SDGs, which are a core part of the Scottish Government’s socioeconomic policy. Learn more.
Kate Forbes’ keynote built upon the themes of the prior evenings, detailing how Smith would have disapproved of the modern obsession with GDP, and what the Scottish Government’s SDG-aligned National Performance Framework is doing to address this. Learn more.
Dr Craig Smith, one of the contributors to The Wealth of Nations in the 21st Century and an internationally renowned expert on Adam Smith introduces the evening’s performance with some reflections on the famous political economist and moral philosopher.
John Yule performs his play The Invisible Hand.
Kaisie Rayner, Climate Change Lead at series sponsor Royal London, closes off the Adam Smith at the COP series with a rousing call to action for the finance sector to address the climate challenge.
