The first edition of the Lisbon Sustainability Week (LSW) took place from June 16 to 18, 2025, at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon, gathering over 600 participants and international leaders to rethink the role of science, governance, and finance in building a greener, more resilient, and fairer economy.

Organized by the Center for Sustainable Finance at CATÓLICA-LISBON, with the support of the Santander Portugal Foundation, LSW positioned Lisbon as a European hub for sustainable finance and economic transformation. The event brought together leading figures such as Ernest Moniz, former U.S. Secretary of Energy, and Sandrine Dixson-Declève, Honorary President of the Club of Rome. Its program combined academic sessions, thematic workshops, and roundtables, fostering interdisciplinary dialogue between science, policy, finance, and the corporate sector.

Day One: Science, Pragmatism, and Strategic Coalitions

The opening session was led by Filipe Santos, Dean of CATÓLICA-LISBON, who called for a climate crisis response anchored in science and guided by pragmatism. He emphasized:

“We now have the technology, assets, and knowledge needed to act. What we lack is the courage to use these tools in service of a more prosperous and sustainable shared future.”

For the Dean, sustainability cannot be imposed by decree — it must be built through systemic intelligence, collective commitment, and well-designed economic incentives. He advocated for a non-ideological approach, focused on implementing proven solutions, and stressed the individual and organizational responsibility to turn intention into action.

This call was echoed by Ernest Moniz, who argued for a realistic, inclusive, and technically feasible energy transition. He warned that setting overly ambitious targets, such as the 1.5 °C goal, without clear implementation plans is counterproductive. As he put it:

“It’s time to stop repeating unachievable goals and start working on executable solutions.”

Moniz, a Professor Emeritus at MIT, called for broad coalitions that include incumbents in the energy industry, and promoted an integrated framework in which climate, social equity, and energy security are addressed as interdependent priorities.

The theme of informed pragmatism also shaped the speech by Inês Gouveia, CEO of the Santander Portugal Foundation, who underlined the role of education as a driver of systemic change:

“We have the evidence, we have the knowledge. Now it’s time to act.”

She invoked the idea of cathedral thinking — the mindset of working today to build a future that only the next generations will inhabit.

In the morning, the Accounting Conference featured research presentations by scholars from Boston University, IESE, MIT, and the University of Southern California, focusing on transition risks and regulatory impacts. In the afternoon, speakers from Harvard Business School, the University of Maryland, and the University of Miami addressed the effects of climate policy and commitments under the Paris Agreement. Concurrently, workshops were held on climate models (Pedro M. M. Soares, University of Lisbon) and natural capital and biodiversity (Nuno Gaspar de Oliveira, Natural Business Intelligence). The day closed with a panel moderated by Ana Albuquerque (Boston University), featuring Richard Sloan (USC) and Arne Staal (FTSE Russell).

Day Two: Climate Finance and a Critique of the Dominant Economic Model

The second day of the conference focused on finance and markets, with sessions led by Lucian A. Taylor (Wharton School), Neng Wang (Cheung Kong GSB) and Susana Campos Martins (UCP) addressing topics such as the carbon burden, climate risk, and sustainability in economic development. In the afternoon, attention shifted to executive compensation under ESG frameworks and shareholder engagement, with insights from Mariassunta Giannetti, Kai Li, and Per Strömberg.

The day concluded with a keynote by Sandrine Dixson-Declève, who offered a systemic critique of today’s dominant economic model. She stressed that:

“A just transition is not a slogan — it is a moral, economic, and political necessity.”

She warned that multiple planetary boundaries have already been crossed, and that we are facing a compound crisis — environmental, social, and political — that demands deep structural reform, especially in the global financial system.

In her speech, Dixson-Declève challenged the obsession with GDP as the sole measure of progress and called for a new model based on well-being, equity, and resilience. She also highlighted the growing cost of inaction, warning that if global warming exceeds 2 °C, economic losses could surpass 10% of global GDP:

“The extractive economy has hit a wall. We need a regenerative financial system that places people and the planet at the heart of decision-making.”

Day Three: From Regulation to Business Model Transformation

The third and final day tackled the operational challenges of the climate transition in an increasingly polarized social and political landscape. Representatives from CMVM, Banco de Portugal, BRISA, EY, Deloitte, KPMG, CGD, and Secil discussed crucial topics including regulation, transition finance, and the transformation of business models.

The closing session reinforced a key idea that resonated throughout the three-day event:

The response to the climate crisis will not be effective if it is purely technical or idealistic. It requires pragmatic collaboration, practical tools, and courageous leadership capable of building real consensus and delivering meaningful impact.