This year’s global Conference of the Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (‘COP23’) will take place in Bonn, Germany, from 6 – 17 November. While it is the second COP focused on implementation of the historic Paris Agreement (PA), it also serves a significant political function: it will mark the starting point of a year-long process towards the key and so-called Facilitative Dialogue at COP24 in 2018. The intergovernmental community will aim to use the event platform to raise the ambition of countries’ nationally determined contributions (NDCs).

Currently the level of ambition of all NDCs falls significantly short – by an estimated annual gap in 2030 of 12 GtCO2e – to steer the world onto a 2-degrees, ‘climate-safe’ pathway. Persisting non-state calls, as well as commitments, to climate action – including from the financial community – can play a powerful signaling role in ratcheting up ambition.

To that effect, UNEP FI and partners are building a strong presence at COP23, via a number of events and platforms including the following:

 

13 November

Financial Risk and Opportunities in the Implementation of the Paris Agreement: UNEP FI experiences 

10:30-11:30 AM, German Pavilion, Bonn Zone

The transformation of the global economy towards the objectives of the Paris Agreement entails a major transition, the costs and benefits of which will depend on the way in which the financial system and the real economy anticipate and encourage the shift. At the invitation of the German Government, UNEP FI will present to the COP audience its experiences with two key initiatives that are to minimise the risks and maximise the opportunities of climate action – the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures pilot project and the energy efficiency finance work.

Speakers

Simone Ruiz-Vergote, Managing Director, Allianz Climate Solutions and Climate Spokesperson, Allianz Group

Stephen Hibbert, Global Head, Carbon and Energy Efficiency Finance, ING

Eric Usher, Head, UNEP FI

Remco Fischer, Programme Lead – Climate Change

Martin Schoenberg, Energy Efficiency Project Coordinator, UNEP FI

 

13 November – High-level segments of Finance Day

Bridging Climate Ambition and Finance Gaps: UN Climate Press Release on high-level segments of Finance Day, and what needs to be done next by governments, cities, states, business and multilateral institutions to secure the pace and scale of investment required, before and after 2020, to meet the Paris goal of keeping the average global temperature rise well below 2 degrees Celsius and as close as possible to 1.5 Celsius. Read here.

 

Mobilizing investment to support NDC implementation and increased ambition

11:30-13:00, Bonn Zone, Room 2

The panel will look at the supply of climate finance, and will showcase governments, companies and financial institutions that are leading the way in delivering successful climate financing solutions and evolving their governance and business models to address the opportunities and risks created by climate change.

Speakers

Nicholas Stern, Chair, Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, London School of Economics

H.E. Inia Seruiratu, Climate Action Champion

Maurice Tulloch, Chief Executive Officer, International Insurance, Aviva

José Ignacio Sánchez Galán, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Iberdrola

Keiko Honda, Chief Executive Officer, Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency

Brune Poirson, Secretary of State for an Ecological and Inclusive Transition, France

Abyd Karmali, Managing Director, Climate Finance, Bank of America

 

Enhancing investor actions to implement the Paris Agreement and accelerate the low-carbon transition to below 2 degrees

15:00 -16:30, Bonn Zone, Room 2

The event will showcase how investors and the finance sector are changing their own practices, and working with companies and governments, to deliver the Paris Agreement and accelerate the low-carbon transition. It will feature concrete examples of investor action across a range of activities, including investor practices, disclosure, engagement with companies, and policy.
The event speakers and expert panel will include:

Speakers

Christiana Figueres

Ibrahim Thiaw, Deputy Executive Director, UN Environment

Tom DiNapoli, Comptroller of the State of New York

John McKinley, Director, Blackrock

Claudia Kruse, Managing Director, APG Asset Management

Emma Herd, CEO, Investor Group on Climate Change

Anthony Hobley, CEO, Carbon Tracker

 Moderators: Fiona Reynolds, PRI & Stephanie Pfeiffer, IIGCC

Download more information here.

 

14 November

One-UN side event on climate finance
Co-convened by UN Environment, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, and the UN Development Programme, the focus of this event will be how public and private finance can best blend for implementation of the NDCs. Or in other words: how finance ministries, financial regulators, and development banks can help shift private markets and private financial flows into alignment with climate goals.

 

14 November

High-level roundtable on Energy Efficiency Finance and Investment

12:00 – 15:00, Ministry of Environment, Bonn, Germany

At this high-level roundtable, the Energy Efficiency Finance Task Group will convene G20 policy and finance community stakeholders to discuss the G20 Energy Efficiency Investment Toolkit as well as to present and share latest developments on the implementation of innovative policies, financial products and tools that enable greater deployment of energy efficiency finance. The G20 EEFTG would also like to use this opportunity to invite participants to explore avenues of further development and engagement with the G20 and bringing it into a regional context

View the agenda here.

The event is open to all UNEP FI members, otherwise participation is by invitation only. If you wish to attend, please email Martin Schoenberg, Energy Efficiency Project Coordinator, at martin.schoenberg (at) un.org.

 

Policies and Standards for Driving the Shift of Financial Flows

 15:00 – 16:15, Pandahub, Bonn Zone

Public and private sector initiatives to support the alignment of financial flows with a well-below 2^oC pathway

Speakers

Andrea Marandino, Sustainable Finance and Corporate Risk Manager, WWF-UK

Michael Wilkins, Managing Director, S&P Global Ratings

Steve Waygood, Chief Responsible Investment Officer,  Aviva Investors

Remco Fischer, Programme Officer, UNEP Finance Initiative

Massamba Thioye, Manager, Sustainable Development Mechanism Program, UNFCCC

Diann Black-Layne, Board Member, Green Climate Fund (tbc)

 

15 November

Investor and Company Actions on Disclosure of Climate Risks and Opportunities: Mainstreaming climate information flows to and from financial markets – the promise of the TCFD

11:30 – 13:00, Bonn Zone, Room 10

The event will discuss the potentials and promise of the TCFD recommendations to fully integrate climate factors into financial decision-making by companies, lenders, investors, and their ultimate depositors and beneficiaries.

Speakers

James Bevan, CCLA

John Stouffer, NY State Comptroller’s Office

Emma Herd, IGCC

Willemijn Verdegaal, NM

Mark Campanale, Carbon Tracker Initiative

Eric Usher, UNEP-FI

Val Smith, Citigroup

Fiona Reynolds, PRI

Download more information here. Read the press release here.

For more information on all these events, please contact us on climate@unepfi.org.

 

16 November – High-level Green Finance Dialogue
The Sustainable Stock Exchanges is convening a high-level dialogue on Green Finance. In the morning of this full-day event CEOs and government officials will discuss the challenges and opportunities of green finance. Following a networking lunch, the afternoon will feature four technical workshops where international experts will be on hand to share the latest state of the art in green finance. For more information and to register click here.