Agenda – Carbon Forward North America 2025

08.30     Registration and coffee

09.00     Conference welcome address

Mike Szabo, Co-founder, Carbon Forward & Director and Co-founder, Carbon Pulse 

09.05     State and trends of North America’s carbon markets

• Get the lowdown on emissions trading schemes in Canada, the US, and Mexico. What are the risks, the opportunities, and how as an emitter can you survive and thrive?

Moderator:
Fiona Oliver-Glasford, Chief Revenue Officer, ClearBlue Markets

Panellists:
Michael Berends, CEO, ClearBlue Markets
Mike Kierstead, Director, Environmental Markets, ICE
Thomas McInerney, Partner, McCarthy Tetrault
Dave Sawyer, Principal Economist, Canadian Climate Institute (CCI)

09.45    Carbon pricing from coast to coast to coast

• Take a trip across Canada’s diverse carbon pricing landscape, and hear how individual provinces and territories are imposing a cost on greenhouse gas emissions. We’ll also explore the development and political risk facing the federal government’s policies, including the backstop tax and oil & gas emissions cap, and consider what things might look like after the next election.

Moderator:
Lisa DeMarco, Senior Partner and CEO, Resilient LLP

Panellists:
Tyson Dyck, Partner, Torys LLP
Robyn Gray, VP, Clean Infrastructure, Sussex
Robert Hamaliuk, Executive Director, Air and Climate Policy, Alberta Environment and Protected Areas
Maral Sotoudehnia, Director, Carbon Pricing, Climate Action Secretariat
Nathan Van Beilen, Senior Policy Advisor, Offsets and Emissions Trading Section, Carbon Markets Bureau, Environment and Climate Change Canada

10.30    Coffee & networking break

11.00     CBAM presentation & fireside chat

Speakers:
Dan Maleski, Environmental Markets Advisor, CBAM Lead, Redshaw Advisors
Nicolas Endress, CEO & Founder, ClimEase

11.15     Going global: Carbon pricing beyond borders

• Carbon pricing is expanding globally, with the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) catalysing a new generation of policies and trading systems. The US has made international waves with its IRA and its stimulus for ‘green’ investment. The playing field is becoming unlevelled. How can governments around the world react to the growing asymmetry around incentives, and in particular what is Canada’s approach? This session will feature a presentation followed by a panel discussion.

Moderator:
Dan Maleski, Environmental Markets Advisor, CBAM Lead, Redshaw Advisors

Panellists:
Grégoire Baribeau, Policy Advisor, Transport Canada, Government of Canada
Michael Bernstein, Executive Director, Clean Prosperity
Ryan Fan, Managing Director & Vice Chair, CIBC Capital Markets

12.00    Lunch & networking

13.00    Investors’ hot take

• Investors provide much-needed liquidity in global carbon markets, but what’s in it for them? Hear from the banks and investment funds that see carbon as a mature and investable asset class, or how it can be used to ‘green’ a portfolio.

Moderator:
Katie Sullivan, Global Managing Director, IETA

Panellists:
Gordon Evens, Director, Environmental Trading – Global Macro Products, RBC Capital Markets
Michael Hudgin, Managing Director, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan
David Moffat, Managing Director, Inlandsis Fund
Alex Pernin, Chief Executive Officer and Director, Green Star Royalties

13.45    Analyst showdown

• Join us for a renowned Carbon Forward analyst showdown where we consider price movements and put forecasts under scrutiny. This session will look at the three main compliance carbon markets, the major price influences and key trends.

Moderators:
Joan Pinto, Senior Correspondent, Carbon Pulse
Mike Szabo, Director and Co-founder, Carbon Pulse

Panellists:
Aishwarya Gogoi, Senior Carbon Analyst, LSEG
Ben Lee, Emissions Analyst, Energy Aspects
Bo Qin, Lead Carbon Analyst, BloombergNEF
Luke Sideropoulos, Compliance Carbon Analyst, Veyt

14.30     Coffee & networking break

15.00    Nature’s palette – from inspiration to resilience

Presenter:
Daniel Andres, Chief of Climate & Biodiversity Operations, Perimeter Forest

15.15     Seeing the NBS through the trees

• North America is still the place for many nature-based solution project types. But how has the landscape evolved since the first projects were registered? What are the risks, new and old? How can you future-proof your project, and what are the other NBS developments to watch out for, including from First Nations and the agricultural sector?

Moderator:
Jeremy Manion, Managing Director, Carbon Markets, Arbor Day Carbon

Panellists:
Daniel Andres, Chief of Climate & Biodiversity Operations, Perimeter Forest
Martin Baker, Senior Director, Natural Climate Solutions, Anew Climate
Cameron Jones, Co-founder and COO, Flash Forest
David Stevenson, Director of Canadian Operations, Finite Carbon

16.00     Carbon removals has entered the chat

• Removals are the hot new thing, but do you know your BECCS from your DAC? Your OCDR from your ERW? We’ll chat to some of the pioneers of these exciting technologies and hear about the challenges and opportunities presenting themselves. The panel will explore key questions including: What does long-term demand look like, both from voluntary and compliance markets? How fast and how far can costs drop? What role can CCUS play, and could this industry be a target for regulation?

Moderator:
Andy Lam, Manager, Climate Programs, MaRS

Panellists:
Luke Connell, Co-founder and CEO, CarbonRun
Bjorn De Groote, Business Development, CO280
Lucy Hargreaves, Corporate Affairs and Climate Policy, Patch
Jim Mann, CEO & Founder, UNDO

17.00     Close of day one

17.00    Evening drinks hosted by ClearBlue Markets