In this episode of Crossing Channels, Richard Westcott is joined by Dimitri Zenghelis, Ulrich Hege, and Mathias Reynaert to explore how green finance can support the clean transition. They discuss the shifting role of financial markets, the balance between public and private investment, and the policies needed to drive long-term change.

Their lively discussion breaks down the economic opportunities of the transition, the impact of regulation on industries like automotive and energy, and the financial and political challenges that come with moving to a low-carbon economy. They also explore why policy credibility and stability are key to unlocking investment and ensuring a fair and effective transition.

This episode is hosted by Richard Westcott (Cambridge University Health Partners and the Cambridge Biomedical Campus), and features experts Ulrich Hege (IAST), Mathias Reynaert (IAST) and Dimitri Zenghelis (Bennett Institute for Public Policy). 

Listen to this episode on your preferred podcast platform

Season 4 Episode 5 transcript

For more information about the Crossing Channels podcast series and the work of the Bennett Institute and IAST visit our websites at https://www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/ and https://www.iast.fr/.

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With thanks to:

• Audio production by Steve Hankey
• Associate production by Burcu Sevde Selvi
• Visuals by Tiffany Naylor and Aurore Carbonnel

More information about our host and guests:

Richard Westcott is an award-winning journalist who spent 27 years at the BBC as a correspondent/producer/presenter covering global stories for the flagship Six and Ten o’clock TV news as well as the Today programme. Last year, Richard left the corporation and he is now the communications director for Cambridge University Health Partners and the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, both organisations that are working to support life sciences and healthcare across the city. @BBCwestcott

Ulrich Hege is Professor of Toulouse School of Economics since 2016. He was Director of TSE until 2017 and Vice-President until 2020. His main research area is in Financial Economics, but he also worked on questions in contract theory, entrepreneurship, regulation, law and economics, and digital economics. Prior to joining TSE, he was Professor and Associate Dean at HEC Paris, and held faculty positions at Tilburg University (Netherlands) and ESSEC (Paris). He has also been a Visiting Associate Professor at London Business School and at New York University Stern School of Business. 

Mathias Reynaert is a Professor of Economics at the Toulouse School of Economics. His fields of interest are empirical industrial organization and environmental economics. His research received recognitions such as the 2015 Paul Geroski and YEEA Prize, the 2022 Edmond Malinvaud Prize, an ERC starting grant (2023-2028), and a 2023 nomination for best young economist in France.  He is a research affiliate at the CEPR and an editorial board member at the Review of Economic Studies.

Dimitri Zenghelis is Special Advisor to the Bennett Institute, University of Cambridge and a Senior Visiting Fellow at the Grantham Research Institute, London School of Economics. He is also a Partner at Independent Economics. He headed the Stern Review Team at the Office of Climate Change and was a lead author on the Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change. Previously he was Head of Economic Forecasting at HM Treasury. @DimitriZ