Breakout agenda: Shifting systems
2.00pm – 5.30pm
Buy green to go green: Winning the race for jobs and investment through zero carbon steel and concrete procurement (selectable – 1 out of 4)
2.00pm – 3.00pm
Steel and concrete production are responsible for 15% of global emissions – and demand continues to rise. We need urgent action now! Governments can kick-start the production of green steel and concrete by using their powers as purchasers and regulators. The prize for early movers is enormous - the global green transition will be built with steel and concrete. Join us to learn more about our global SteelZero and ConcreteZero memberships and how you can help shape the market and attract investment by committing now to buy low emission steel and concrete products.
Speakers:
- Femi Akinrebiyo, Manager – Global Manufacturing and Trade Supplier Finance, International Finance Corporation
- Jen Carson, Head of Industry, Climate Group
- Jason Langer, Group Managing Director – Projects, Robert Bird Group
- Mateus Simões, Vice Governor of Minas Gerais
- Dr Paul Toyne, Practice Leader – Sustainability, Grimshaw Architects
- Fleming Voetmann, Vice President, External Relations and Sustainability, VELUX
- Helen Walter-Terrinoni, Director-Global Climate Policy, Trane Technologies
Money talks: Mobilizing and scaling finance for climate action now (selectable – 1 out of 4)
Approximately $50 trillion in incremental investments is required by 2050 (or 4-5 $trillion annually by 2030) to transition the global economy to net zero emissions and avert a climate catastrophe. Sophisticated capital structures, which blend different sources of public and private capital, are necessary to close the investment gap, while new business models and targeted public interventions are crucial. In this session, subnational experts, investors and solution providers will be invited to showcase what’s been working on the ground and where the biggest challenges still lie: exploring carbon markets, developing green financial instruments and leveraging markets to decarbonize key sectors and explore climate solutions.
Speakers:
- Jean Lemire, Envoy for Climate Change, Government of Quebec
- Lamia Kamal-Chaoui, Director, OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities
- Sandra Roling, Director of Transport, Climate Group
- Hon. Steven Miles MP, Deputy Premier, Minister for State Development, Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning and Minister Assisting the Premier on Olympic and Paralympic Games Infrastructure, Queensland Government
- Tina Völker, Ministry for Economic Affairs, Innovation, Digitalization and Energy, North Rhine Westphalia
- Uday Khemka, Vice Chairman, The Nand & Jeet Khemka Foundation
- Virginia Bagnoli, Senior Manager, Government and Policy, Climate Group
Bridging perspectives: Subnational insights on climate resilience in a fast-changing reality (selectable – 1 out of 4)
2023 has been another year of record-breaking temperatures and extreme weather events, from storms and flooding to long-lasting droughts. As the climate crisis becomes very real for people across the world, we’ll be asking how states and regions can build local resilience and adapt to a fast-changing reality, especially when funding priorities are established elsewhere. Drawing on the expertise of Under2 Coalition governments and international experts, we’ll explore solutions that exist now and others that are gradually becoming more realistic as viewpoints and technologies shift.
Speakers:
- David Mascort, Minister of Climate Action, Food and Rural Agenda, Government of Catalonia
- Deanne Criswell, Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
- Ed Morrow, Senior Campaigns Manager, Lloyd's Register Foundation
- Isran Noor, Governor of East Kalimantan 2018-2023, Government of East Kalimantan
- Jebi Rahman, Head of Global Implementation, Climate Group
- Jordan Harris, Executive Director, Regions4
- Mark Harvey, Founder and CEO, Resurgence
- Noloysio Walingo, Director, Climate Change & Environmental Planning, Governance & Information Management, Development, Tourism & Environmental Affairs, South Africa
- Dr. Ruth Boumphrey, CEO, Lloyd's Register Foundation
Uniting leaders: Supercharging multilevel action to close the ambition gap (selectable – 1 out of 4)
Findings of the September 2023 Global Stocktake Synthesis Report demonstrate a need for more rapid and comprehensive action to reach net zero. With subnational governments strongly represented at the UN Secretary General’s Climate Ambition Summit and the introduction of a Local Climate Action Summit at COP28, we have entered a new era in multilateral climate discussion. Subnational leaders are championing credible climate action and playing a critical role in domestic multilevel governance. This session will reflect on existing efforts in multilevel governance, while examining how these efforts help and hinder climate action. It will also explore moves to formalise the role of subnational governments in building resilient and climate neutral communities under the Paris Agreement.
Speakers:
- Dr Champa Patel, Executive Director of Governments and Policy, Climate Group
- Gladson Cameli, Governor of Acre, Brazil
- Lamin Saidykhan, Governor of North Bank Region, Gambia
- Màiri McAllan, Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Net Zero and Just Transition, Scotland, UK
- Ambassador Nina Hachigian, Special Representatives for City and State Diplomacy, Office of Global Partnerships, U.S Department of State
- Oh Young Hun, Governor of Jeju Province
- Ricardo Javier Torres Hernandez, Undersecretary of Environment, Queretaro, Mexico
- Sergio Arjona Jiménez. Vice-Minister of Sustainability, Environment and Blue Economy, Andalusia, Spain
All-of-society approach to a just transition: Unlocking public and private efforts to accelerate a just and equitable net zero (selectable – 1 out 3)
4.00pm – 5.30pm
A holistic ‘all-of-society’ approach is critical to a fair, sustainable and equitable future. This approach, supported by collaboration and cooperation across diverse stakeholders, offers a blueprint for inclusive, comprehensive and enduring solutions. In this session, we’ll convene thought leaders and practitioners from the public and private sectors to explore successful examples of just transition practices that have the power to inspire and drive transformational change. By bringing together individuals who have championed these efforts, we aim to foster a cross-sectoral exchange that informs and motivates both corporations and governments.
Speakers:
- Brendan Curran, Senior Policy Fellow, London School of Economics
- Cate Hart, Executive Director, Department of Environment and Water the Government of South Australia
- Champa Patel, Executive Director for Governments and Policy, Climate Group
- Daniele Agostini, Head of Energy and Climate Policies, Enel
- Karla Godoy-Lima, Executive Secretary of Environment and Sustainability Government of Pernambuco
- Màiri McAllan, Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Net Zero and Just Transition, Government of Scotland
- Martin Keller, Laboratory Director and Alliance President, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
- Rwitwika Bhattacharya, Chief Executive Officer, Swaniti Initiative
- Virginia Bagnoli, Senior Manager, Strategy and European Affairs, Climate Group
Mission Methane: The critical role of subnational leadership in global methane mitigation (selectable – 1 out 3)
As a gas that is 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide, methane emissions must fall dramatically for the world to keep to 1.5 degrees of warming. The Global Methane Pledge, agreed by over 150 countries at COP26, marked collective determination to meet this challenge, but achieving its goals will require significant action from subnational governments. Following the launch of the Subnational Methane Action Initiative at Climate Week NYC 2023, this session brings together state and regional governments interested in and / or leading the way in methane mitigation with partners, funders and satellite data providers to understand the barriers to and opportunities for achieving this global pledge when time is of the essence.
Speakers:
- Alex Sandro Marega, Executive Deputy Secretary for the Environment, Government of Mato Grosso, Brazil
- Andrew Jones, Executive Director and Co-Founder, Climate Interactive
- Carolina Urmeneta, Waste and Circular Economy Program director, Global Methane Hub
- Jebi Rahman, Head of Global Implementation, Climate Group
- Mackenzie Huffman, Director, Strategy and Partnerships, Carbon Mapper
- Manjyot Ahluwalia, Regional Lead Asia, Global Methane Hub
- Oden Ibiang Ewa, Commissioner for Special Duties & Leader of the delegation, Government of Cross River State, Nigeria
- Rana Pujari, Senior Manager, South Asia Government Relations
- Ms Reena Gupta, Advisor to the Environment Minister, Government of NCT of Delhi, India
Breaking energy boundaries: Unleashing renewable energy prosperity in G20 nations (selectable – 1 out 3)
Renewable electricity, especially solar power, is the most cost-effective energy source in human history. However, many nations are still failing to harness its benefits or take advantage of the economic opportunities it offers. To unlock the potential of renewable energy and seize the investment opportunities available to global corporations, policymakers must confront common barriers. In this session we’ll explore three factors crucial for a thriving renewable electricity market - availability, accessibility and affordability – with findings from a new Climate Group report that offers insights and solutions to the current situation across the G20.
Speakers:
- David Cui, Vice President, BCI Group
- Cecilia Nicolini, Secretary of Climate Change, Sustainable Development and Innovation, Government of Argentina
- Irene Espinola, Net Zero Carbon Global Director, Grupo Bimbo
- Madeline Pickup, Senior Policy Manager, RE100, Climate Group
- Oliver Wilson, Head of RE100 and Energy Operations
- Thomas Lingard, Global Head of Sustainability, Environment, Unilever
Closed-door roundtable: Climate “Foodprint”: Exploring food decarbonisation potential through policy and procurement (not selectable – by invite only)
The 2023 report ‘The Breakthrough Effect’, shows that public procurement policies favouring alternative proteins could help to create a societal tipping point for adopting this lower-carbon food source. This, in turn, could stimulate broader low carbon transition across the agricultural sector. In a closed-door round table session, we will explore the opportunities presented by ‘government food procurement’: focusing on the procurement power that (subnational) governments have in sourcing low-emission, healthy alternative proteins for government offices, hospitals etc, to create a more climate-friendly diet and cut emissions.
More speakers to be announced in the coming weeks.
Return to the Under2 Coalition General Assembly at COP28 UAE page.