presented by
SECOND DAY
June 3rd
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Unbuild : What's Holding Us Back
At the ARENA - New City Gas
OPENING OF THE 6TH SUSTAINABLE FINANCE SUMMIT
ARTISTIC PERFORMANCE
9 : 00 a.m. - 9 : 30 a.m.
KEYNOTE TALK 1
WHY SUSTAINABLE FINANCE HAS NOT (YET) DELIVERED SYSTEMIC TRANSFORMATION?
9 : 30 a.m. - 10 : 00 a.m.
Over the past decade, sustainable finance has grown rapidly, supported by strong narratives, expanding frameworks, and increasing market participation. Yet a persistent gap remains between stated ambitions and actual capital allocation, raising fundamental questions about the incentives, constraints, and blind spots that continue to limit its ability to drive systemic change. Why has sustainable finance struggled to translate commitments and frameworks into meaningful shifts in capital allocation? What structural incentives or constraints continue to prevent financial markets from fully integrating long-term risks? What would need to change for sustainable finance to move from incremental progress to systemic transformation?
PLENARY SESSION 1
SUSTAINABLE FINANCE IN TRANSITION : A NEW GLOBAL REALITY
10 : 00 a.m. - 10 : 45 a.m.
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Financial markets depend on trust, including trust in pricing, comparability, and institutional coherence, yet that trust is increasingly tested by climate volatility, geopolitical fragmentation, regulatory divergence, and the rapid expansion of sustainable finance frameworks. As taxonomies, disclosure regimes, transition standards, and supervisory expectations multiply across jurisdictions, this evolving architecture aims to strengthen transparency and risk pricing while raising deeper questions about complexity, comparability, and market integrity. Has the proliferation of sustainable finance frameworks improved risk pricing or introduced complexity that blurs market signals? Are jurisdictions converging toward credible global norms, or drifting into fragmentation that weakens investor confidence? What reforms are needed to restore clarity, coherence, and durable trust in sustainable capital markets?
COFFEE BREAK
10 : 45 a.m. - 11 : 15 a.m.
PANEL 1
THE ESG MOMENT OF TRUTH : WHAT MUST BE ABANDONED, FIXED, OR INTEGRATED?
11 : 15 a.m. - 12 : 00 p.m.
As ESG frameworks, standards, and disclosure requirements continue to multiply, financial institutions face growing complexity in assessing what truly drives risk management and long-term value. This session examines whether ESG, in its current form, is strengthening market integrity and systemic resilience or contributing to fragmentation, information overload, and declining credibility. Which elements of today's ESG architecture meaningfully improve financial decision-making, and which create noise without impact? How can regulators, standard-setters, and market participants reduce fragmentation while preserving comparability and rigor? What reforms are necessary to restore confidence that ESG frameworks effectively address systemic risks rather than merely expand disclosure?
LUNCH BREAK
12 : 00 p.m. - 1 : 00 p.m.
PANEL 2
TRANSITION FINANCE IN PRACTICE : LESSONS FROM THE BLUE ECONOMY
1: 00 p.m. - 1 : 45 p.m.
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Coastal infrastructure, maritime transport, port systems, and marine ecosystems illustrate the complexity of managing transition in sectors exposed simultaneously to accelerating physical climate risks and deep global economic interdependence. Using the blue economy as a real-world lens, this session examines how capital allocation, operational constraints, and infrastructure planning must align to deliver credible decarbonization while preserving resilience and competitiveness. How can financial institutions, port operators, and freight companies better align investment timelines with operational realities in capital-intensive maritime systems? What distinguishes credible transition pathways in ports and shipping from incremental adjustments that risk prolonging structural exposure? How should private operators, investors, and public authorities share responsibility for balancing trade continuity, energy security, and long-term climate resilience?
PANEL 3
SOCIAL INEQUALITIES : A FINANCIAL RISK THE SYSTEM CONTINUES TO UNDERESTIMATE
2 : 00 p.m. - 2 : 45 p.m.
Social inequalities are increasingly shaping the risk landscape, influencing political stability, economic performance, and the resilience of financial systems. As the transition accelerates, uneven impacts across households, regions, and sectors can amplify vulnerabilities, affect affordability, and create conditions that disrupt markets and challenge long-term risk management. How do social inequalities translate into financial and insurance risk across markets, regions, and asset classes? In what ways can affordability constraints and uneven transition impacts affect market stability, insurability, and capital allocation? What role should insurers, investors, and public authorities play in anticipating and mitigating these risks while maintaining economic resilience and social cohesion?
COFFEE BREAK
2 : 45 p.m. - 3 : 15 p.m.
PANEL 4
SECURITY, DEFENCE AND SUSTAINABLE FINANCE : THE NEW FRONTIER
3 : 15 p.m. - 4 : 00 p.m.
As geopolitical tensions rise and governments reassess strategic autonomy, defense investment is rapidly moving back to the center of economic and financial policy. In Canada, recent initiatives aimed at strengthening defense innovation and investment illustrate a broader shift that is forcing financial markets to confront how sustainability frameworks intersect with security imperatives, fiduciary duty, and systemic resilience. This shift raises fundamental questions for the sustainable finance community. How is the renewed focus on defense investment, including emerging Canadian initiatives, reshaping capital allocation and financial risk assessment? Should defense and strategic resilience be reconsidered within sustainable finance frameworks, or do they challenge their underlying principles? What role should financial institutions, investors, and public authorities play in reconciling fiduciary duty, national security, and long-term systemic stability?
KEYNOTE CONVERSATION 1
WHEN CAPITAL NO LONGER REFLECTS REAL-WORLD RISKS
4 : 00 p.m. - 4 : 45 p.m.
As financial markets navigate a landscape shaped by credibility challenges, structural dependencies, social tensions, and rising security imperatives, a growing gap is emerging between identified risks and actual capital allocation decisions. This closing conversation examines why key systemic risks remain insufficiently priced and explores the conditions required to restore effective risk signaling and rebuild a more coherent global financial architecture. Why are well-identified risks not fully reflected in capital allocation and market pricing? What structural factors prevent financial signals from effectively capturing systemic vulnerabilities? What changes are needed to restore credible risk signals and support the reconstruction of a resilient financial system?
JUNE 3
RELATED ACTIVITIES
Unbuild : What's Holding Us Back
At the STUDIO - New City Gas
AN INITIATIVE OF
FINANCE MONTRÉAL
4, Place Ville-Marie, suite 300
Montréal, (Quebec) H3B 2E7
GENERAL INFORMATION
AND MEDIA INQUIRIES
