Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, the appointed President of COP28 and the Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, reaffirmed the commitment of the conference’s leadership to collaborate with partners and steer climate action in alignment with the UAE’s vision.
This approach aims to set the climate agenda on the right path while simultaneously emphasizing the creation of opportunities for sustainable economic and social growth.
This assertion was made during the meeting held on August 15th and 16th at the Abu Dhabi Global Market, organized by COP28.
The gathering included discussions with global economic experts from the Independent High-Level Expert Team on Climate Financing and representatives from leading international institutions, such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and the Extended Fund Facility under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust. Additionally, the International Finance Corporation was also present, along with COP28 and COP27 presidencies and United Nations climate leaders.
Al Jaber’s speech during the meeting stressed the importance of presenting a clear framework and practical recommendations that lead to substantial progress in the development of climate finance mechanisms.
Participants are expected to provide recommendations for establishing a new framework for international climate finance, along with an implementation roadmap during COP28.
The meeting’s attendees also agreed to take necessary steps to create this new framework, aiming to achieve tangible and significant progress not only during COP28 but also in COP29 and COP30 conferences.
Economic experts in attendance focused on several key topics for the proposed new financial framework.
These topics include addressing debt issues in climate-vulnerable countries, the role of the private sector in providing additional funding, and the need to accelerate the growth of these financial flows to meet the required annual investment of $2.4 trillion USD until 2030.
This investment is crucial to mitigating the impacts of climate change in emerging markets and developing economies.
The roadmap will serve as guidance for all relevant institutions, including UN agencies, the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, regional multilateral development banks, governments, and the private sector. Its purpose is to implement short- and long-term plans to achieve the goals set out in the Paris Agreement.
Achieving consensus among government, private sector, and joint sector leaders on this roadmap during COP28 is anticipated to facilitate substantial and meaningful progress in the international climate finance action plan.
The collaborative efforts of these stakeholders hold the potential to usher in a new era of climate-conscious financial initiatives, driving sustainable growth and climate resilience.
