Climate Policy Initiative experts will host and present at several events during COP26 that will cover the global landscape of climate finance, emerging instruments to drive sustainable finance, net zero finance integrity, approaches to closing the investment gap for urban climate projects, and other topics.
All times below are GMT.
Water and Mitigation: From Science to Climate Action
Monday 1 November; 2:00 -3:30
Water Pavilion/Virtual
Senior Analyst Morgan Richmond will participate in this event, organized by SIWI, which will cover: Freshwater-related mitigation measures in water systems, energy systems and ecosystems (such as wetlands and other inland water ecosystems, forest, croplands, rangelands); Mitigation within the water-sanitation-hygiene sector, including links to energy and cities-infrastructure.
IDFC – A Key Player for Financing the Transition Towards Low-Emission and Climate-Resilient Development
Tuesday 2 November; 16:00 – 17:30
IDFC Pavilion/Virtual
The International Development Finance Club (IDFC) is a group of 26 national and regional development banks from all over theworld, and an important provider of public development and climate finance. The session will emphasize the IDFC ‘s key role in financing the transition towards a low-emission and climate-resilient development, not only in terms of financing volume. In a keynote speech, followed by a high-level panel discussion and a Q&A session, the added value and special relevance of the IDFC ́s climate-related work will be discussed, providing guidance for the future work of the Club.
CPI’s Global Managing Director Barbara Buchner will moderate this event, with panelists:
- Patrick Dlamini, DBSA
- Rémy Rioux, AFD
- Yannick Glemarec, GCF
- Javier Díaz Fajardo, Bancoldex
- Dante Mossi, BCIE
- Serge Ekue, BOAD
- Christiane Laibach, KfW
Climate Finance: Making Good on the Rhetoric?
Tuesday 2 November; 16:00 – 17:30
Virtual
Senior Analyst Nicole Pinko will participate in this event to cover suggestions for stakeholder collaboration and concrete solutions to help achieve the ambitions within the framework of the Paris Agreement.
Understanding and Managing Transition Risk for Development Banks
Wednesday 3 November; 9:30-11:00
IDFC Pavilion/Virtual
Development banks carry a double responsibility: like any financial institutions, they need to develop frameworks to measure and understand their own level of exposure. At the same time they must ensure that their clients and partners are aware of the growing importance of transition risk and accompanied in measuring and managing this risk. Bella Tonkonogy will participate in this side-event, which will share experiences in setting-up climate risk frameworks, outline tools and processes to measure transition risk (including the elaboration of stress test exercises) and give examples on challenges and approaches when improving disclosure around climate risks.
Mobilizing Capital for Climate Finance in Developing Economies
Wednesday 3 November; 11:30 – 12:30
US Pavilion
Developing economies face an annual multi-trillion dollar financing gap for climate mitigation, adaptation, and resilience. The Development Finance Corporation is embarking on a set of commitments to mobilize climate finance from the private sector for economic mobility and investment in developing economies. This event will explore strategies in finance — and key challenges to financing — in emerging markets.
Speakers include:
- Leonardo Martinez-Diaz, Senior Advisor, Special Envoy for Climate John Kerry
- Aparna Shrivastava, Deputy Chief Climate Officer, DFC
- Eric Garcetti, Chair of C40 Cities, Mayor of LA, Nominee to serve as US Ambassador to India
- Minister Jeanine Cooper, Minister of Agriculture, Liberia
- Josh Whale, CEO, Ampersand
- Barbara Buchner, Global Managing Director, CPI
- Jaqueline Novogratz, Acumen
- Damilola Ogunbiyi, CEO, Sustainable Energy For All
Finance Flowing to Accelerate Climate Action: Innovation and Partnership
Wednesday 3 November; 13:00 – 14:25
Multilevel Action Pavilion, Blue Zone
The session will be divided into three parts: (i) First, local government representatives from Europe, South America and Africa sharing their challenges to secure finance. (ii) This will be followed by financial institution representatives showcasing the instruments they offer. (iii) Finally, an exchange between the local governments and financial experts discussing how to improve collaboration and upscale action, allowing cities to accelerate their climate ambition.
Bella Tonkonogy will provide closing remarks.
Financing a Resilient Net Zero
Wednesday 3 November; 13:30 – 14:00
Action Zone/Virtual
Barbara Buchner will moderate a session titled, “Creating a Step Change in Private Capital for Emerging Markets and Developing Countries.” This event is part of the Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action, which was created to support implementation of the Paris Agreement by enabling collaboration between governments, cities, regions, business and finance actors on climate change, promoting higher ambition of all stakeholders to collectively strive for the 1.5°C temperature goal and a climate-neutral and resilient world.
Global Economics Conference
Wednesday 3 November; 14:00 – 15:00
Hunter Hall, University of Glasgow
CPI Manager Valerio Micale will participate in this event, organized by the UK Government Economic Service (GES), which will focus on the contribution economics can make to achieving net-zero – through its influence on policymaking.
Financing Local Solutions As A Means To Climate Justice That Leaves No One Behind
Thursday 4 November; 13.15-14.30
IFAD Pavilion, Hall 4 / Virtual
Tiza Mafira, Associate Director at CPI will participate in this event, hosted by The Government of Ecuador jointly with HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation, Fundación Avina, TENMYA 21, the alliance Voices for Just Climate Action (VCA) and the project Andes Resilientes, which is a lively exchange on solutions and lessons learned on local climate funding that brings together voices, perspectives, and experiences of local communities, government, civil society, and financial organizations from across the globe.
Learning Lessons from Development Finance for a Transformative Climate Finance in Developing Countries
Thursday 4 November; 14:00 – 15:30
IFAD Pavilion, Hall 4 / Virtual
Barbara Buchner will participate in this event, hosted by The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), which will discuss how to mobilize climate finance to support developing countries adapting to climate change, particularly for the benefit of small-scale producers who are the most in need.
Reshaping the Urban Energy Landscape
Friday 5 November; 16:00 – 17:30
Virtual
Laura Jungman, Senior Consultant at CPI, will participate in this event hosted by the European Youth Energy Network.
Framework for Sustainable Finance Integrity Roundtable
Friday 5 November; 16:30 – 17:45
Benelux Pavilion
CPI will host this invite-only roundtable session with members of its Framework for Sustainable Finance Integrity.
How to Unlock Barriers to Scaling-Up Climate Finance
Saturday 6 November; 15:00 – 16:30
IDFC Pavilion/Virtual
While the volume of Climate Finance needs to be ramped up dramatically and for the long haul, barriers to scale up are manifold: inadequate regulatory frameworks, dearth of finance form capital markets or a lack of bankable and standardized green projects. This side-event will identify the most important constraints that hamper the emergence climate finance at large scale and discuss plausible financial structuring that can inspire the launch of new pilot initiatives.
CPI Senior Analyst Baysa Naran will present findings from CPI’s 2021 Global Landscape of Climate Finance at this event.
World Climate Summit, The Investment COP
Sunday 7 November; 10:00 – 11:00
Hilton Glasgow/Virtual
Barbara Buchner will moderate a session on Mobilising Finance to Tackle the Climate Crisis – Climate at the Core of Investment Strategy. Other speakers include:
- Marisa Drew, Chief Sustainability Officer & Global Head of Sustainability Strategy, Advisory and Finance, Credit Suisse
- Eugenia Unanyants-Jackson, Principal and Head of ESG research at PGIM Fixed Income, PGIM
- Cathrine de Coninck-Lopez, Global Head of ESG, Invesco
- Claire Hedley, ESG and impact investing strategist, Goldman Sachs Asset Management
- Rodolfo Lacy, Director of the Environment Directorate, OECD
Private Finance for Climate Risk Adaptation: Bridging the Resilience Gap
Monday 8 November; 9:30 – 10:15
Benelux Pavilion
At this event, hosted by the Global Innovation Lab for Climate Finance (the Lab), the Lab and colleagues from their network will leverage their experience in incubating innovative climate finance structures and business models to discuss key factors that can contribute to the success of innovative approaches to mobilizing private capital for climate adaptation. This event will bring together key players from the Lab’s network of climate finance innovators to address key questions:
- How can we accelerate adaptation finance? Discussing factors that enable innovative ideas to successfully move from design to implementation, building climate resilience in emerging markets.
- What does success look like? Sharing opportunity areas and lessons learned on developing and preparing projects, launching adaptation finance initiatives, and connecting them to external financing.
- What are strategies to reducing key barriers? Sharing key issues that arise across sectors and markets, and strategies for managing them.
Moderator: Barbara Buchner, Global Managing Director, Climate Policy Initiative
Investors:
- Rowan Douglas, Head – Climate and Resilience Hub, Willis Towers Watson
- Nabil Kadri, Chief of Environment and Amazon Fund – BNDES
- Abyd Karmali, Managing Director, Climate Finance at Bank of America
- Barbara Schnell, Deputy Head of Department Sector Policy, KfW
Implementers:
- Emily Pidgeon, Vice President, Ocean Science and Innovation, Conservation International (RISCO);
- José Pugas, Partner & Head of ESG and Agribusiness, JGP Crédito (SAFF)
Let’s Talk About Adaptation
Monday 8 November; 13:15 – 14:00
Nordic Pavilion (Pavilion 45) in Hall 4
Barbara Buchner will participate in this event which will highlight the roots of climate change adaptation, and address questions such as: What are the main obstacles? How can we find the way around them?
1st High Level Ministerial Dialogue on Climate Finance
Monday 8 November; 15:05 – 15:45
The Cairn Gorm Plenary Room
Barbara Buchner will chair a panel titled ‘Enhancing the predictability of climate finance’.
The Presidency will convene the first biennial High Level Ministerial Dialogue on climate finance under the CMA, which will be informed by both the summary report on the biennial in-session workshop and the biennial communications referred to in Article 9, paragraph 5, of the Paris Agreement. It will include three panels on enhancing the predictability of climate finance, improving the scale and effectiveness of adaptation finance and the future trends in climate finance mobilisation, followed by an open plenary for Parties to provide interventions.
Panelists will include:
- Mathias Cormann, OECD Secretary-General
- Yasmine Fouad, Minister of Environment, Egypt
- Lyonpo Yeshey Penjor, Minister for Agriculture and Forests, Bhutan
Tracking Private Finance for Forests: Approaches and Opportunities for Tropical Forest Countries
Monday 8 November; 19:00
EU Pavilion/Virtual
Gabriela Coser, Climate Finance Analyst at CPI, will present research during this event.
Policy Pathways: From Climate Risk to Policy Action
Tuesday 9 November; 8:00
Virtual
Vivek Sen, Manager at CPI , will participate in this event hosted by Chatham House, which is an online, interactive policy simulation to explore how policymakers can use existing macro-economic policy levers (spending, taxation and regulation) to accelerate the transition to Net Zero.
Climate change, food insecurity, and child health
Tuesday 9 November; 10:00 – 11:00
WHO Pavilion
CPI Senior Consultant Daniela Chiriac will participate in this event with speakers:
- Professor Elizabeth JZ Robinson, Director of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, LSE
- Dr. Shouro Dasgupta, Researcher at Fondazione CMCC
- Do Etienne Traore, National UNFCCC Focal Point, Secretariat Permanent du Conseil National pour le Développement Durable (SP/CNDD)
- Professor Ros Cornforth, Director of the Walker Institute, University of Reading
- Professor Anthony Costello, University College London, Former Director, Department of Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health, World Health Organisation
Clean Energy Innovation and Accelerating Commercialization
Tuesday 9 November; 14:00-14:45
SDG7 Pavilion
This event, co-organized by the UK Government, CPI, and SEforAll, will hear the perspectives of local SME innovators and financiers about what works and works less well in accelerating the commercialization of innovative technologies, business models and financial mechanisms in developing countries to support clean energy transitions.
Speakers will include:
- Barbara Buchner, Global Managing Director, CPI (moderator)
- Kate Hughes, UK Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS)
- Claudia Sanchez, Executive Director of the Colombian HVACR Association – ACAIRE
- Thomas Motmans BASE, Cooling as a Service
- Oluwadabira Abiola-Awe, Ventures & Capital Campaign Associate, Student Energy
- Sidney Muturi Wakaba, Investment Associate, Camco Clean Energy
- Brian Dean, SE4All
Roadmap to Rapidly Scaling Solar Investment: The Key to Climate Change Mitigation, Energy Access, and Energy Security
Tuesday 9 November; 16:30 – 18:00
Commonwealth Pavilion
Barbara Buchner will moderate a panel session at this event, hosted by WRI, ISA, and Bloomberg Philanthropies, which will consist of a series of interactive discussions with Government ministries and finance experts, focusing on how solar investment can be scaled to mitigate climate change and advance universal energy access and energy security.
Speakers on the panel include:
- Amal Lee Amin, Director Climate Strategy at CDC Group plc and Senior Advisor COP26 Unit, Cabinet Office
- Andrew Johnstone, Director and CEO, Climate Fund Managers
Dialogue on Global Public Investment
Tuesday 9 November; 18:00-19:30
Virtual
The objective of this session, organized by UNDP, is to pay for the outline and improvement of the GPI. To this end, the key aspects to be identified during this process are: a) ideas for the generation of a coherent action plan, and b) data that allow building a technically sound and politically attractive roadmap for CID actors.
CPI Manager Sandra Guzmán will participate in this event.
How can budgeting and finance for climate change adaptation at country level be inclusive and gender responsive?
Wednesday 10 November; 8:30 – 10:00
Virtual
Integrating gender into climate responsive budgeting is increasingly recognised for its ability to ensure the more effective, efficient and equitable use of public financial resources. Governments and civil society organisations from Africa, Asia and Latin America have been working to support a more inclusive approach to climate budgeting.
CPI Manager Sandra Guzmán will participate in this event organized by the Collaborative Africa Budget Reform Initiative (CABRI), UNDP, GFLAC, IIED.
World Biodiversity Summit
Wednesday 10 November; 10:00 – 11:00
Glasgow Hilton
Barbara Buchner will participate in a panel titled, “Sustainable and Regenerative Agriculture at the Center of Development Strategies – Challenges and Opportunities.”
Other speakers include:
- Moderator: Dr. Zitouni Ould-Dada, Deputy Director in the Office of Climate Change, Biodiversity and Environment at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Rome
- Steven Ko, Chairman, O’right
- Alison Taylor, Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO), ADM
- Hans Sauter, Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO), Fresh Del Monte
Financing Climate Action in Cities
Wednesday 10 November; 13:00 – 15:00
Virtual
The OECD and the Cities Climate Finance Leadership Alliance (The Alliance) will facilitate this event that will convene national and subnational policy-makers, climate and public finance experts, and private sector stakeholders from across the globe, and leverage their combined expertise in subnational climate finance.
This event delves into the importance of understanding the size and type of financial flows being channelled towards climate action, and ensuring these flows align with global climate agreements. CPI’s Bella Tonkonogy, Tiza Mafira, and Laura Jungman will participate.
Powering Past Coal: Coal Power Finance in High-Impact Countries
Wednesday 10 November; 14:15 – 15:00
SDG7 Pavilion/Virtual
CPI Analyst Kyle Blocher will present at this event, co-organized by CPI and SEforALL.
Global Climate Action Awards Ceremony
Wednesday 10 November; 18:00 – 19:30
The Global Innovation Lab for Climate Finance (the Lab) has won the special 10th anniversary edition of the United Nations Global Climate Action Awards. The award, run by United Nations Climate Change since 2011, recognizes the world’s most innovative, scalable, and replicable examples of action to tackle climate change.
Barbara Buchner and Ben Broché will accept the award on behalf of the Lab.
Driving Net Zero Finance Integrity
Wednesday 10 November; 18:30 – 19:45
Studio 2/Virtual
This COP26 side event, co-hosted by CPI, 2DII, and UNEP-FI, will bring together leading experts in the net zero and sustainable finance space to discuss what is needed to align all finance flows with Paris Agreement goals and ensure impact in the real economy, including how to: strengthen net zero commitments to avoid “greenwashing”; address methodologies and data/reporting/analytical gaps to guarantee impact beyond commitments; mainstream sustainability in operations, including finance and portfolio transition priorities; and examples of how leading institutions are moving with urgency and integrity.
Speakers will include:
- Bella Tonkonogy, Associate Director, CPI (moderator)
- Pierre Ducret, Special Advisor to the President of Finance for Tomorrow
- Guido Fürer, Swiss Re CIO and member of the UN-convened Net-Zero Asset Owner Steering Group
- Thibaut Ghirardi – Managing Director – 2DII France
- Chris Hurst, Director General, Projects Directorate, European Investment Bank
- Raphaël Lebel – Head of the Sustainable Finance Observatory – Finance For Tomorrow (F4T)
- Tracey McDermott, Chair, UN-convened Net-Zero Banking Alliance and Group Head, Corporate Affairs, Brand & Marketing at Standard Chartered
- Eric Usher, UNEP FI Head
Net Zero and Built Environment
Thursday 11 November; 10:45- 12:15
Virtual
Priscilla Negreiros, Manager of the Cities Climate Finance Leadership Alliance, will participate in this event hosted by the University of Glasgow.
Financing for Climate Friendly Investment Special Event
Thursday 11 November; 12:15 – 13:15
MDB Pavilion
Organized by UN Climate Change, in partnership with the World Economic Forum Global Project on Climate Change, this event will recognize how innovation is playing a key role in unlocking financial resources, resulting in greater institutional capacity to fund activities that promote low-carbon growth and highly resilient communities. This event will showcase the four winning projects of the 2021 UN Global Climate Action Award, under the Financing for Climate Friendly Investment focus area.
Ben Broché will speak at the event.
Cities, Climate Change and MDBs: Cooperation, Action and Delivery
Thursday 11 November; 12:15 – 13:15
MDB Pavilion/Virtual
Multilateral Development Banks can play an essential role in mobilizing finance to support climate action in cities and realise the goals of the Paris Agreement. This side event will present the actions MDBs are taking to support meaningful investments for urban decarbonisation and resilience across the globe. The event will highlight the collaboration between MDBs, with the public and private sector, and with CSOs to enable impactful change in cities. Last, the event will highlight the investment and impact goals for cities each MDB has agreed to deliver.
Barbara Buchner will chair this event, which will include:
- Stephen O’Driscoll, Head of Environment, Climate and Social Policy at the European Investment Bank
- Manoj Sharma, Chief of Urban Sector Group, Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department, ADB
- Stefan ATCHIA, Manager Urban Development Division, AfDB
- Lin O’Grady, Associate Director, Co-Lead EBRD Green Cities
- Tatiana Gallego, Division Chief, Urban Development and Housing Division, IaDB
- Vivek Pathak, Global Head and Director of Climate Business, IFC
- Daouda Ndiaye, OIC Head of Climate Change Practice, IsDB
- Sameh Wahba, Global Director, Urban, Disaster Risk Management, Resilience and Land Global Practice, World Bank
Building Ambition: Scaling Finance for Sustainable Cities
Thursday 11 November; 12:15 – 13:30
Blue Zone/Virtual
Kristiina Yang will participate in this session hosted by the Chatham House Sustainability Accelerator.
Financing the Sustainable Cities of the Future: What will it take to get there?
Thursday 11 November; 15:30 – 17:00
Green Zone – Science Show Theatre – Virtual
The Cities Climate Finance Leadership Alliance, C40 Cities Finance Facility, GIZ, ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, and World Climate Foundation will co-organize this event which will showcase innovative solutions and success stories on how to best leverage public and private finance to unlock the trillions of financing needed over the next decade for low-carbon, climate-resilient infrastructure in cities.
Barbara Buchner will moderate the event with speakers:
- Councilor Richard Bell, City of Glasgow, UK
- Dr. Heike Henn, Director for Climate Policy, Energy, Urban Development and Environment and Commissioner for climate policy and climate financing at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
- Vice Mayor Isabella de Roldao, Recife, Brazil
- Norbert Gorißen, Deputy Director General at German Federal Ministry for the Environment
- Roelfien Kuijpers, Global ESG Client Officer at DWS and Head of the Client Coverage Division for Ireland, Scandinavia and the UK
- Carolina Urrutia, Secretary of Environment of Bogotá, Colombia
- Maryke van Staden, ICLEI, Director of ICLEI’s Bonn Center for Local Climate Action and Reporting (carbonn Climate Center)
- Carmen Vogt, Head of Cities, GIZ
The Agri-Food Transition Summit
Thursday 11 November; 12:00
Virtual
CPI consultant Angela Falconer will participate in a session titled, “Investing in Nature: Financing the Transition to Sustainable Supply Chains,” which will cover the following topics:
- Where does the money need to come from to bridge the transition to deliver sustainable supply chains?
- Mobilizing investment to build scale: Understanding the commercial opportunities of carbon sequestration and natural solutions
- Improving quantity, quality and access to finance equably to transform agriculture practice at all scales
- Developing models to measure real impact and action on climate change and biodiversity