HSC Future Economy Day

The current pace of development of AI applications across sectors and industries bears great potential to increase resource efficiency and develop new sustainable materials, while at the same time driving an exponential increase in energy demand. Without decarbonisation of energy production, digital innovation will increase emissions and accelerate climate change.

How do local economic centres deal with this twin challenge of decarbonising and digitalising? What are key factors for successful twin transition? What role do governments, private sector and citizens / consumers play?

This panel will explore the determinants of successful local transition strategies from around the globe and address key challenges and structural barriers. Private and public sector representatives from business locations with a track record in successful implementation will discuss best practices, critical success factors, and innovative approaches, aiming at mutual learning, adopting solutions and generating new cooperations.

Meeting global climate commitments requires a dramatic scaling of investment, innovation, and capacity-building. While countries are increasingly advancing National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), transition plans, and climate investment frameworks, implementation continues to face barriers, including insufficient finance, fragmented market rules, low absorptive capacity, and technology gaps.

Meanwhile, emerging tools such as AI-enabled climate analytics, digital public infrastructure, and evolving carbon market architectures offer new opportunities to accelerate both mitigation and adaptation.

This session—held during the 2026 Hamburg Sustainability Conference—will bring together leaders from finance, government, the UN system, and technology to explore how “enablers and accelerators” can connect national climate plans with real investment, higher integrity markets, and enhanced resilience. It will highlight the practical steps needed to harmonise standards, mobilise finance, and deploy digital tools that can help countries implement their plans effectively and at scale.

The session will also include a focus on innovative approaches to scaling finance in emerging markets and developing countries.

As the twin transition becomes a defining force for economic renewal, circular economy strategies are gaining strategic importance for companies operating in global value chains. Growing resource scarcity and geopolitical supply risks, net-zero climate commitments, and shifting market expectations are pushing businesses to rethink how products are designed, materials are sourced, and value is created.

In this session at the HSC Future Economy Day we will examine how digital technologies — from data platforms to AI-driven traceability — open new opportunities for a circular economy. Bringing together experts from a variety of fields the session highlights the economic potential of circularity in a globalized world: lower dependency on volatile raw material markets, new revenue models through circular business innovations, and stronger competitive positioning in sustainability-driven markets.

For decision-makers looking to understand how circular value creation can drive economic performance in the era of the twin transition, this session offers essential insights and practical perspectives.