Where Faith Meets Finance: Max Studennikoff to Speak on Climate Investment at Rome's Catholic Congress Global Meet

The Catholic Congress Global Meet will bring delegates from across the world to Rome from 19 to 23 October 2026 under the banner "One Flag, One Faith, All Continents". Preparations have included a symbolic flag journey through several countries. It has reached California and, more recently, Europe, with the Pope expected to take part. Among the speakers is Max Studennikoff, who represents the CC (Climate Change) Investment Forum. His presence puts one of the defining questions of our time, how to fund a sustainable future, in front of a global community of faith.

Max founded CC Forum in 2018, with its first event in London, after building a career as an entrepreneur and an international speaker. He holds an MBA from Imperial College London. His aim was to bring together investors, policymakers and innovators who rarely sit in the same room. He has said that "CC" stands for climate change, but that it can equally mean communication and connectivity. The forum has since been held in London, Monaco, Dubai, Bahrain, Malta and Zurich.

CC Forum's practical mission is to connect groundbreaking sustainable projects with discerning impact investors. Its events combine talks and panels with an investors' hub and live startup pitches. The 2025 Zurich edition, for example, was reported to have involved more than 100 speakers and over 300 attendees. The projects it has showcased range from carbon capture to growing rice in the desert and turning food waste into alternative diesel. This focus on moving capital to solutions that are ready to work is what makes his message relevant to a congress concerned with people and the planet

The timing is striking. Vatican News recently reported the Pope's message that the climate crisis is not only an environmental challenge but a matter of justice. That idea sits close to the heart of what Max champions: that finance must serve people, especially the most vulnerable, and not only returns. Rome offers a rare chance to join moral leadership with investment capacity. Faith communities can help build the trust and reach, and investors can bring the capital, so that good intentions turn into funded projects.