Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, President-Elect of COP28, participated in high-level discussions on climate finance with US President Joe Biden and His Highness King Charles III, alongside leading investors and philanthropists. His visit to the UK aims to advance innovative climate finance to deliver climate action and a just energy transition.
During his visit, Al Jaber participated in a forum on mobilizing climate finance hosted by the UK Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, the Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP, and the Special Envoy of the President of the United States for the climate, John Kerry.
The UN Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance, Mark Carney, along with leaders from the private sector and philanthropy in finance, sustainable development and climate action participated in the forum . Dr. Al Jaber encouraged all parties to revise their ambitions ahead of COP28 and to continue to galvanize UK and US based businesses and philanthropists to do the same.
Al Jaber said: “The leadership of the United States and the United Kingdom is essential in delivering on climate change funding pledges and mobilizing additional capital. We must deliver on the $100 billion in annual funding to promised in 2009, and I have been heartened by recent assurances that this promise will be kept. However, we need to mobilize trillions, not billions, of dollars if we are to achieve our climate, biodiversity and Millennium Development Goals.
“To achieve this, we need to mobilize capital at all levels, whether public, commercial or philanthropic. Capital and finance are essential tools for climate action. But to unleash their power, they must be available, accessible and affordable worldwide.
Al Jaber added: “Climate change is a global problem that requires a global solution. All financial actors must work within a new framework of solidarity to enable climate change finance to reach scale, reach and speed that the world needs. Following today’s meetings, I am pleased to announce that COP28 will host a high-level forum on business and philanthropy, as part of the Global Climate Action Summit This forum will focus on breaking down barriers to progress, showcasing what works and identifying opportunities for co-creation, collaboration and acceleration.
Al Jaber reiterated his call for major reform of international financial institutions and multilateral development banks, and added: “To invest the amounts required, we will need to put in place the right risk mitigation instruments that incentivize the private sector to act at scale. This is not the time for incremental reforms. We need a holistic approach underpinned by collaborative frameworks”.
Discussing the announcements made by the organizations present, Al Jaber continued, “Initiatives such as the Mobilizing Climate Finance Forum are a critical way forward. The funding announced today by some of the major private sector players and philanthropists are exactly what we need as we approach COP28″.
During his visit, Mr. Al Jaber also welcomed the progress made by the World Bank’s Private Sector Investment Lab, which will be responsible for developing solutions to remove obstacles to private sector financing. in the field of climate. Al Jaber said: “Capital is a key element of climate action, and catalysing private investment is a key priority of the COP28 Presidency. I look forward to the Private Sector Investment Lab issuing actionable recommendations that can be integrated into the COP28 climate finance program”.
He concluded that “the UK and the US are home to two of the largest financial markets in the world. Their action and the funding announced today are essential to keeping the 1.5°C threshold within reach and must be replicated on a global scale”.
This article is originally published on wam.ae
