From the 6th-18th of November, the world will have its eyes on COP 27. NatureFinance has a core delegation on the ground and is participating in a number of events over the next two weeks, spanning across our various workstreams. Many of these events are accessible virtually, and we invite you to tune in where possible. Below, you will find the most up-to-date details of these events.
Notably, the Sustainability-linked Sovereign Debt Hub will host an event on the 8th of November. Full details here.
An extract from a ‘COP backgrounder’ given by Nature Finance’s Executive Director, Simon Zadek, is included below for further context and you can find Simon’s input on a recent article by Global Capital’s Jon Hay, Market looks to COP for policy steer, but risk of stalemate is high, here.
NATUREFINANCE PRESS RELEASE EXTRACT: COP27 MUST FOCUS ON THE CRISIS IN FINANCING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
“To make a difference here and now, COP27 needs to address the crisis in financing sustainable development,” said Simon Zadek, Executive Director, NatureFinance – the organisation dedicated to enabling Governments and finance to work together to ensure nature positive outcomes- speaking ahead of the global gathering in Sharm El-Sheikh.
Zadek, who has previously held roles as Head of Secretariat, UN Secretary General’s Digital Finance Taskforce; Senior Advisor on Finance in the office of the UN Secretary General; and Co-Director of UNEPs Finance Inquiry and senior colleagues Marcelo Furtado, Principal, NatureFinance; Justin Mundy, Senior Advisor, NatureFinance; and Mark Halle, Principal, NatureFinance, will be in Egypt participating in key events across the conference.
Simon Zadek, NatureFinance Executive Director, sees COP27 in the context of a polycrisis of three overlapping and mutually reinforcing crises, namely:
- The climate nature crisis.
- The debt crisis, which is about to drive many, many countries into extreme poverty and trigger a number of sovereign debt defaults, particularly in emerging markets.
- And thirdly, potentially the most disastrous of all in the short-term, the crisis in financing Sustainable Development, without which, the world cannot tackle the climate nature crisis.
He said, “We are at one of those key moments in history where the climate and nature crisis, through problems in finance, will either continue in a vicious circle of decline or could, with co-ordinated international action, enter a virtuous circle of recovery.”
NatureFinance COP27 Speaking Appointments
• 8th November: Transparency on environmental impact: mobilising for systemic change :
SDG Pavilion, 10:00 EET
This session will bring together a wide range of stakeholders, from business to NGOs and civil society, to discuss progress made so far, establish key learning and jointly define how we can accelerate broader environmental transparency. This event is in person.
NatureFinance Speaker: Marcelo Furtado
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• 8th November: Monitoring biocomplexity for Costa Rica’s nature market
Nature Pavilion, 17:15- 18:15 EET
The Crowther Lab is hosting a critical debate and will be talking about how we can measure biodiversity, or rather biocomplexity, to deliver a world in which healthy ecosystems underpin the economically sustainable future of local communities. This event is in person and will be live-streamed
NatureFinance Speaker: Marcelo Furtado
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• 8th November: Stepping out of the Comfort Zone: What’s next for Sustainability-Linked Financing?
Bellona, 17:30 EET Organised by the Sustainability-linked Sovereign Debt Hub (SSDH)
This session will debate how capital from Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) and the donor community could be best utilised to catalyse progress in nature and climate commitments, while improving market access and reducing the cost of sovereign debt.
NatureFinance Speaker: Justin Mundy
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• 9th November: Climate is nature – time to break down the silos, (Climate Education Hub)
09:00 EET
Hosted by Planet Tracker, This event is in person and will be live-streamed
NatureFinance Speaker: Simon Zadek
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• 9th November: Digital and Financial Pathways for the Climate and Food Security Transition
13:00 EET, Digital Innovation Hub, Blue Zone
Hosted by the Climate Chain Coalition, This panel will shed light on the different pathways towards a sustainable food system and how digital platforms and tools can support climate-neutral and climate-positive transitions at varying levels of the economy and society. This event is in person and will be live-streamed
NatureFinance Speaker: Simon Zadek
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• 9th November: Financing sustainable transition: Towards a transformative scenario to tackle climate change
18:00 EET, Spanish Pavilion
This event is co-organised by EMEA, CEPS and MED- WAVES (the UNEP/MAP Center for SCP) . The aim of the event is to discuss ongoing initiatives developed by international organisations and financial institutions. This event is in person.
NatureFinance Speaker: Simon Zadek
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• 10th November: The sustainable debt coalition and the African Green Finance Coalition- Delivering sustainable finance for Africa
09:00 – 10:30 EET, Africa Pavilion
Organised by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa & The COP Presidency, in this event, the high-level participants will reflect on the existing landscape for sustainable finance across the continent and will propose strategic interventions to improve the conditions for access to appropriate instruments and the development of climate aligned debt instruments. This event is in person.
NatureFinance Speaker: Simon Zadek
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• 11th November, Hedera Regenerative Finance Forum – Beyond Carbon
15:00 – 16:00 EET, Hub Culture Climate Pavilion
Attendees can expect to learn how these issues are being tackled on the frontline, how standards and frameworks are being developed to ensure scalability and interoperability, and how innovative technology is being leveraged to bring significant finance into nature related projects. Register here
NatureFinance Speaker: Simon Zadek
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• 12th November, Beyond 1.5: The business of adaptation
11:00–11:45 EET
WBCSD are hosting a session that will lay out the current operating challenges that business has already experienced as a result of current level of climate change, in a 1.1-degree Celsius world. Find out more
NatureFinance Speaker: Simon Zadek
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• 12th November: Aligning Agricultural Finance To Meet Climate And Nature Goals
17:00-19:00 EET
FAIRR is hosting a private roundtable event on COP27 Adaptation and Agriculture Day on the topic of ‘Aligning agricultural finance with climate and nature’.
NatureFinance Speaker: Simon Zadek
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Brazilian Coalition on forests and Agriculture Climate Finance – 12th November: The role of civil society for a green economy in the Amazon. Find out more
NatureFinance Speaker: Marcelo Furtado
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• 14th November: Unlocking Finance for Nature: Towards Scalable Carbon Monitoring Solutions
11:00-12:00 EET, Nature pavilion
This event will preview upcoming breakthroughs in how we monitor carbon removals from local landscape restoration, avoided emissions from reducing deforestation, net GHG emissions from commodity supply chains, and more. This event is in person and will be live-streamed
NatureFinance Speaker: Marcelo Furtado
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• 14th November: Thematic Sovereign Bonds as core financing instruments for sustainable development
17:00-18:30 EET, Chilean pavilion
Hosted by the Chilean ministry, this event will look at sustainable sovereign bonds. This event is in person.
NatureFinance Speaker: Simon Zadek
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• 10th November: Towards an innovative integrated transformative action to tackle climate change
11:00-12:0 EET, Mediterranean Pavilion
The objective of this event is to discuss the transformative action towards accelerated sustainability from a trans-disciplinary perspective, linking economy with technology-based clean energy, biodiversity, neuroscience, urban planning, and finance. This event is in person.
NatureFinance Speaker: Ralph Chami
