As a member of the federal government, he has overseen the creation of Belgium’s Recovery Plan which is one of the greenest national investment plans according to the European climate tagging criteria. Thomas Dermine pleads for a 5.000 Billion green plan, as public investments in infrastructure, research and human capital are key to accelerate the just transition.
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In his competency of federal Science Policy, he is also at the origin of the Belgian Climate Centre, which was created in November 2022.
Keynote Speakers
Samantha
Burgess
Deputy Director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) | Visiting professor University of Reading
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State of the climate system : insights on European and global climate trends on warming, extremes, and impacts
Prof. Dr. Samantha Burgess is a dynamic and influential leader at ECMWF’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), combining deep scientific knowledge with policy acumen to enhance climate data services and drive resilience against climate risks. Her work is instrumental in translating complex climate science into actionable insights for global decision-makers. Burgess has built a career at the intersection of science, policy, and communication, working across public, private, not-for-profit and academic sectors and is also a visiting professor at the University of Reading. 
Myles
Allen
Professor of Geosystem Science, University of Oxford | Head of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary Physics
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Geological Net Zero: How we will stop climate change – eventually
Prof. Dr. Myles Allen is Professor of Geosystem Science at the University of Oxford, where he leads work on understanding human and natural drivers of climate change and their links to extreme weather. He introduced the concept of the global carbon budget in 2005, laying the scientific foundation for the idea of net zero emissions. Allen has played a leading role in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, most recently as Coordinating Lead Author of the Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C. His current research explores “Geological Net Zero,” balancing fossil fuel use with carbon capture and storage. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society, recipient of the Institute of Physics Appleton Medal and Prize, and was appointed CBE for his services to climate change science and policy. Since 2022, he has also served as Frank Jackson Foundation Professor of the Environment at Gresham College, delivering a public lecture series on net zero.
Heleen
De Coninck
Professor of Socio-Technical Innovation and Climate Change, Eindhoven University of Technology | Professor of Climate Change and System Transitions, Radboud University
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Societal transitions towards a net-zero world
Prof. Dr. Heleen de Coninck's main research focus is on the role of technology and behaviour in mitigating climate change, on national and international climate policies, with a focus on making energy-intensive industry climate-neutral, and on the viability and societal dynamics of 1.5C-mitigation pathways. She is the vice-chair of the Netherlands Scientific Climate Council. She was a Coordinating Lead Author in the IPCC Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5C (2018), and in the innovation chapter of the mitigation part of the Sixth Assessment Report (2022). She current serves as a Lead Author in the IPCC Special Report on Cities. Heleen has a background in physical chemistry and environmental science, and a PhD on the role of technology in the international climate negotiations. Before joining academia, she worked for over a decade on international energy and climate policy at applied research organisation Energy research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN), now part of TNO.
Katherine Richardson
Professor at the University of Copenhagen
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The climate change crisis cannot be tackled in isolation from other anthropogenic activities
Prof. Dr. Katherine Richardson is Professor of Biological Oceanography at the University of Copenhagen. She served for 12 years as Director of the Sustainability Science Center at the University and has been Chair of the Danish Climate Commission as well as a member of the Danish Climate Council. She was a co-author of the United Nations Global Sustainable Development Report 2019 and is currently Director of Queen Margrethe’s and Vigdís Finnbogadóttir´s Interdisciplinary Research Centre on Ocean, Climate, and Society. Her research focuses on biogeochemical processes in the ocean’s surface layer and how these are impacted by climate change. She is also a co-developer of the Planetary Boundaries Framework.