Dubai: Key business and philanthropy leaders joined with leaders of multilateral development banks and political leaders from emerging economies at COP28 today, to announce a range of initiatives aimed at harnessing the resources of business and philanthropy for climate action.
The second day of the inaugural COP28 Business & Philanthropy Forum included key announcements on preserving nature, energy transition alongside a methane abatement accelerator and an initiative to decarbonize health supply chains.
The day was opened with a keynote address from Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), who gave insights into how business and philanthropy leaders can work with global organizations to catalyze a just transition to a greener economy.
There were also sessions on the impact of philanthropy, featuring, Bill Gates, the co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Ray Dalio, Founder of Bridgewater Associates, Dr. Precious Motsepe, Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Motsepe Foundation, and H.E. Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair, Chairman Abdulla Al Ghurair Foundation for Education.
A discussion on transition funding, involving Odile Renaud-Basso, President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Dilhan Pillay Sandrasegara, CEO of Temasek Holdings, and Dr. Andrew Steer, President and CEO of the Bezos Earth Fund, also explored the distinctive blended finance platform championed by Ahmed Saeed, CEO of Allied Climate Partners, and International Finance Corporation as one of the investors.
With opening remarks from Jesper Brodin, Chief Executive Officer, Ingka Group, IKEA, the Forum also hosted a key discussion on energy which explored how the sector and other heavy emitting industries can work with policy makers to galvanise broad action to advance the just energy transition and reduce emissions, whilst providing accessible energy to support the development of all economies and people. The session featured high-level speakers including Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, Chief Executive Officer, Masdar, Marco Arcelli, Chief Executive Officer, ACWA Power, and Juliet Davenport, President, The Energy Institute with closing remarks from Dr. Rajiv Shah President, The Rockefeller Foundation.
Commenting on the Forum and the role the private sector has to play in climate and nature, COP28 Special Representative for Business & Philanthropy and Chair of the COP28 Business & Philanthropy Climate Forum, Badr Jafar said: “Governments simply do not have the available capital or capacity to make the climate transition on their own. To move from the billions we have to the trillions we need, we require urgent, unprecedented, delivery-focused public, business and philanthropic collaboration. The Business & Philanthropy Climate Forum represents a paradigm shift that recognizes this opportunity and connects diverse stakeholders together in a way that creates a multiplier effect on climate and nature impact. The private sector increasingly recognizes that embracing a sustainable and equitable future, leaving no one behind, is the growth story of our time.”
The day also featured sessions on media and climate, harnessing nature for climate impact, the built environment, space and climate, the effects of climate on health, and a pitch session where climate entrepreneurs pitched their ideas to investors.
