• CERAWeek
  • March 18 - 22, 2024
  • About

Charlotte Wolff-Bye

Petroliam Nasional Berhad

Vice President & Chief Sustainability Officer

Charlotte serves as the Chief Sustainability Officer of PETRONAS, Malaysia's leading Fortune 500 company. Since joining in 2021, she has turned the company's Net Zero Carbon Emission aspiration into strategy and plans to drive decarbonization and social progress. She engages directly in venture capital investment, digitalization and capability development to accelerate a sustainable energy transition. Previously Charlotte worked for the Norwegian energy company Equinor in the role of Vice President Sustainability, delivering the company's first sustainability strategy that laid the foundation for the company's low carbon focus. She was also the company's representative on the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI), the World Bank's Global Gas Flaring Reduction Initiative (GGFR) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). From 2007-14, Charlotte held the position of General Manager Corporate Responsibility for the global steel and mining company ArcelorMittal. Charlotte's earlier experiences include a decade in the telecommunications sector, most notably working for Telefonica and O2, multilateral lending at the Nordic Development Fund, music marketing and diplomatic affairs. Charlotte is a longstanding and active champion of corporate sustainability practices, a frequent top-level speaker, commentator and writer on sustainability, ESG and energy-related matters. She is the recipient of Devex's leadership award for her contribution to international development and was recently listed among the world's leading chief sustainability officers. She serves on the board of trustees of the United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre.

Sessions With Charlotte Wolff-Bye

Monday, 6 March

  • 07:30pm - 09:00pm (CST) / 07/mar/2023 01:30 am - 07/mar/2023 03:00 am

    Is Sustainable Investing Accelerating the Energy Transition?
    Energy Transition/Climate & Sustainability
    Getting to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions will require trillions of dollars in investments. Fiscal policies, complemented by a broad range of regulatory and financial policies, will be necessary to enable this transition. The global financial industry can play an important role in financing the transition to a greener economy. After years of rapid and consistent growth, ESG investing faced new headwinds in 2022. A surge in sustainability-related funds and products has created suspicions about reporting, standards and greenwashing in many jurisdictions. In the United States, opposition to ESG concepts has driven certain Republican-controlled states to shift some investments and threaten more. At the same time, the oil and gas sector outperformed the market by a wide margin and energy was the only sector within the S&P 500 that generated a positive share price return in 2022. Consequently, there have been increasing questions about the ESG’s relevance amid changing market conditions and how funds will implement their commitments to invest “sustainably.” Is ESG investing suffering from growing pains or is the support wavering? In 2022, large money managers reduced their support for ESG-focused shareholder proposals and industry alliances? How will this impact energy transition investments? Will the focus on energy security and affordability accelerate investments in hydrocarbons and slow down investments in clean energies? How should funding for mitigation and adaptation be mobilized for emerging economies? What regulatory oversight do you support or recommend to prevent “greenwashing”?