4-5 December 2010 | Cancun, Mexico

From the 4-5 December 2010 the UNEP Finance Initiative and partners, including the World Bank, the UN Global Compact, the Carbon Disclosure Project and many others, will come together to launch the inaugural World Climate Summit at The Ritz-Carlton, Cancun, Mexico. WCS will be running in parallel to COP16, and is a new initiative dedicated to helping governments, businesses and financiers accelerate solutions to climate change. As a founding partner of the WCS, UNEP FI will be co-hosting sessions to discuss key issues raised by its members and explore ways forward – details below. As the first founding partner of the WCS and the conference’s main focal point on finance, investment and insurance, the UNEP Finance Initiative is supported by a large coalition of financial institutions and investors, both UNEP FI Signatories as well as numerous climate change networks such as IIGCC, IGCC, INCR, the PRI, ClimateWise and FELABAN. World Climate Summit 2010 is the beginning of a new, open and collaborative global 10-year initiative dedicated to helping governments, businesses and financiers accelerate solutions to climate change. The World Climate Summit is bringing more than 300 leading companies, investors and government leaders to implement, scale and collaborate on bottom-up solutions to climate change by 2020. “The private sector in general, and the financial services sector in particular, hold the key to effective climate change mitigation and adaptation. The World Climate Summit provides a prime platform to show that action on climate change is not only needed and feasible but the only commercially sensible option.” Paul Clements-Hunt, Head of UNEP FI Visit the conference’s website
UNEP FI at COP16
See the Press Release
Media Coverage
Summary of the UNEP FI events at Cancun

UNEP FI side events at WCS

UNEP FI is proud to be involved in several sessions during the WCS, which have been designed to bring discussion on topical issues in the work of our members.

1. How the Latin American Banking Sector is dealing with climate change, risk management, identifying opportunities and examples of best practice

This session explores the ways in which several Latin American banking institutions have adopted business processes, in alignment with the sustainability of their operations, to better mitigate and adapt to climate change. When? Saturday, December 4th 2010, 15:00 – 16:00
Where? Finance Forum

A discussion on the enabling environments, the domestic policy frameworks – incentives and sanctions – the international instruments and the political and business commitment needed to unlock private capital for low-carbon development at the required scale. When? Sunday, December 5th 2010, 0845 – 1000
Where? Carbon Finance

3. Carbon Markets: Programmatic – Sectoral – The CDM – NAMAS: carbon finance and the future of the world’s carbon markets

Co-hosted by the UNEP Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) and the Carbon Markets & Investors Association (CMIA), this session will introduce delegates to the basics of the carbon markets as well as feature experts who will debate the following key questions: what benefits do carbon and other environmental markets bring both business and the environment? What is the long-term vision for the carbon market and how can this be achieved given the political realities of international negotiations? When? 14:15 – 15:15, Sunday 5th December 2010
Where? Finance Forum