Submitted by Maisie Ormrod on Wed, 06/05/2026 - 16:30
7 May 2026 - CISL was proud to be a partner at Innovation Zero World Congress 2026, joining business, finance and policy leaders to focus on how innovation can be scaled to deliver real economic, social and environmental impact.
Against a challenging geopolitical backdrop, the event was marked by strong energy, thoughtful debate, and a clear shift from ambition to implementation, reinforcing the growing alignment between climate action, competitiveness and long‑term resilience.
From “whether” to “how fast”
Opening the event, Nigel Topping set the tone by arguing that the question is no longer whether the transition will happen, but who shapes it, who benefits and how quickly it can be delivered. Speakers highlighted that energy security, competitiveness and affordability increasingly depend on electrification and clean technologies - with innovation accelerating at exponential speed. Across sessions, participants echoed the economic case for action and the risks of delay, including growing exposure to climate impacts, rising infrastructure costs and increasing strain on financial systems.
Scaling solutions, not searching for them
A consistent theme throughout the event was that the challenge is no longer a lack of solutions, but the ability to scale them.
This was reflected in the Innovation Showcase, featuring examples from across the innovation pipeline, including insights from CISL’s Innovation Director Viola Jardon, illustrating the progress being made and the remaining barriers to deployment.
CISL perspective: adding nature to the balance sheet
Eliot Whittington, CISL’s Chief Systems Change Officer, spoke on the panel Adding Nature to the Balance Sheet, bringing a systems perspective to the growing debate on nature and finance.
The discussion highlighted:
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the growing recognition by banks and insurers of nature‑related risk
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the opportunity to move from pilot projects to investable, scalable nature solutions
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the need for policy frameworks, long‑term boundaries and credible evidence to unlock markets for nature restoration
Eliot emphasised that while too much capital still flows into activities that degrade nature, there is also a rapidly growing pipeline of positive activity — and a need to shine a brighter light on what already works. These insights align closely with CISL’s From Innovation to Impact report, which sets out how innovation can transform markets when paired with collaboration across business, finance and policy.
Bridging the “missing middle” in climate finance
On the Main Stage, CISL’s Chief Innovation Officer James Cole spoke on a panel which focused on practical ways to unlock capital for frontier climate solutions, highlighting the need to:
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Deploy capital faster and more coherently
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Use blended finance structures to crowd in private investment and share early‑stage risk.
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Strengthen demand signals through corporates and public procurement, helping technologies demonstrate bankability.
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Introduce system‑level interventions, including procurement‑ready standards and market‑creating mechanisms, to close the widening “missing middle” between venture capital and scale‑up finance.
Collaboration as the accelerator
Across the programme, speakers stressed that progress depends on collaboration at scale, between governments, companies, investors and innovators, to crowd in capital, reduce risk and move faster than any single actor can alone.
As proud partners of Innovation Zero, CISL welcomed the opportunity to contribute expertise, convene diverse perspectives and bring systems thinking to the conversation on delivering a sustainable, competitive future.
