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
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. 
Katherine Richardson
Professor at the University of Copenhagen
Prof. Dr. Heleen de Coninck is an expert on the role of technology, behaviour, and policy in enabling deep decarbonisation and climate-neutral industry. Her research focuses on international and national climate policy, the societal dynamics of 1.5°C pathways, and system transitions required for mitigation. She is Vice-Chair of the Netherlands Scientific Climate Council and has played a leading role in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, serving as Coordinating Lead Author of the Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C (2018) and the innovation chapter of the Sixth Assessment Report (2022). She is currently a Lead Author for the IPCC Special Report on Cities. She trained as a physical chemist and environmental scientist and earned her PhD on technology in international climate negotiations. Before joining academia, she worked for more than a decade on international energy and climate policy at the Energy research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN, now TNO).
Myles
Allen
Professor of Geosystem Science, University of Oxford | Head of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary Physics
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
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.