LSE Public Lecture Programme - Harnessing AI: safeguarding high-integrity data for climate action

24/06/2025

Hosted by the Transition Pathway Initiative Centre (TPI Centre) at LSE

  • Date: Tuesday 24 June 2025
  • Time: 6.30 pm - 8.00 pm (British Summer Time)
  • Venue: Auditorium in the Centre Building, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
The event in the video starts at 4:00.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are versatile technologies that have drastically lowered the cost of data production and analysis, potentially supporting the acceleration of global decarbonisation efforts. However, concerns remain about their environmental and social impact, particularly the potential spread of low-quality information.

While AI and large language models can assist in processing data necessary for achieving net zero, unchecked reliance on automation may lead to misinformation and greenwashing, thus jeopardising sound decision-making.  As the demand for real-time data increases in the pursuit of net zero, the TPI Centre at LSE is navigating this challenge.

This event explored the TPI Centre’s pilot programme designed to automate data collection for assessing the net zero progress of companies, banks and countries. By convening academics, researchers, investors and business leaders, we aimed to foster discussions on the information essential for advancing the net zero transition.

Meet our speakers and the chair

  • Moderator: Jon Cardoso-Silva is an assistant professor in the LSE Data Science Institute (DSI) where he teaches modern best practices for the collection, storage and manipulation of data for analytics and AI. Jon co-leads the GENIAL project, a study that looks into how the use of AI by undergraduate students impact, or interfere, with their learning experience at university.
  • Melissa Chapman is an assistant professor of environmental policy at ETH Zürich. Her research is at the intersection of decision theory, ecology, and data justice, exploring the application of AI to developing effective and equitable strategies for implementing global biodiversity and climate targets. Prior to ETH, Millie was a visiting faculty researcher at Google Research and a postdoc fellow at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis.
  • Amy Fisher is the Director of Partnerships at Muir AI, where she leads customer and partner engagements. With Muir, corporations create scaled product-level insights to enable supply chain optimization and drive decarbonization across products and suppliers. Amy has spent her career focused on embedding sustainability into business operations, working with clients in the private and public sector around the world. Amy has a M.A. in International Affairs & Economics from Johns Hopkins SAIS.
  • Sylvan Lutz is a policy officer at the TPI Centre, contributing to the ASCOR (Assessing Sovereign Related Climate Opportunities and Risks) team. He specializes in analysing countries' climate performance and applying data science automation techniques to improve climate data accessibility for policymakers and researchers. Sylvan holds a double MSc in Environmental Management and in Environmental Economics and Climate Change from LSE and Peking University.
  • David McNeil is Vice President, Global Climate Research & Strategy at PGIM, the asset management arm of Prudential Financial, where he supports PGIM’s investment teams with research and analytical tools to analyse climate risks across diverse asset classes. He previously led climate-focused research teams at Insight Investment and Fitch Ratings, and has earlier experience across ESG analysis, consulting and policy development for corporates, investors and public sector clients.
  • Chair: Carmen Nuzzo is Professor in Practice at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment and the Executive Director of the TPI Centre. Carmen leads the TPI Centre’s strategy, research, and operations. Before joining in 2023, she was Head of Fixed Income at the UN-Principles for Responsible Investment, focusing on ESG in credit risk and various debt workstreams.

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