COP23: Our pick of the best investor-specific events (Updated with new events!)

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Updated with new events.

More than 20,000 people are expected to descend on Bonn in Germany over the next two weeks to participate in COP23, the UN’s annual climate summit. The event will be presided over by the Government of Fiji and its Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama, but is being hosted by the Government of Germany. And there will be no shortage of events. More than 830 applications were made this year by businesses, industry bodies, civil society, governments and research houses wanting to hold side events – a massive increase on COP22. The official venue couldn’t accommodate all requests, so there will be overspill into ‘unofficial’ side events too, elsewhere in the city. RI has picked its top investor-related panels to help those planning their schedule to get the most out of what looks set to be a jam-packed fortnight. For a full list of side events and locations, see here and here.

Monday 6th

18.00-19.30: EU-backed organisation Climate KIC will introduce some of their partners, who facilitate investment into climate-aligned projects and companies, with a particular focus on capital markets and accounting. Participants will include Carbon Delta, Gold Standard and Quantis.

Tuesday 7th

11.30-12.45: The Climate Bonds Initiative is holding an event on sovereign green bonds in partnership with WWF. It will give examples of bonds already issued and discuss potential for further deals from governments. Speakers include government officials from Nigeria, Kenya and France. Details: WWF Pavilion
15.00-16.30: For a ‘masterclass’ in reporting and disclosure, the UN’s Climate KIC has partnered with the Global Reporting Initiative, CDP and the Climate Disclosure Standards Board. The event will look at policy developments, regulatory best practice and the commonly used approached in corporate and investor climate disclosure.

Wednesday 8th

15.00-16.40: The UN’s Green Climate Fund is once again in the spotlight, this time for a talk about the state of play, and how to improve collaboration to mobilise investment. Some of the GCF’s key challenges – including young people and indigenous rights – will be discussed. The panel will be held by Germanwatch.

Thursday 9th

11.30-13.00: The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation is behind a discussion that will address investors’ role in tackling social risks related to renewable energy projects. Community relations, screening processes and disclosure guidelines will all be discussed, in the context of the SDGs.

11.30-13.00: Speakers will present business cases to demonstrate innovative financing instruments to help the agricultural sector meet its climate commitments in emerging markets.12:15-14:15: LuxFLAG will host a panel discussion on bottlenecks in the investment supply and demand for climate-aligned projects, as well as touching on regulation, policy, innovations, impact v volume, and sustainable land use. Other speakers will include representatives from Sail Ventures, Finance in Motion, UN Environment and the Luxembourg Stock Exchange.

15.00-16.30: Members of the Climate Action in Financial Institutions Initiative will explain how they are trying to contribute to more climate-aligned financial flows.

16.45-18.15: As investors increasingly commit to aligning with global climate targets, and the SDGs, the Global Reporting Initiative will host a talk on advancing corporate disclosure around climate change, with a focus on investors and financial markets.

17.00-19.00: Representatives from the Forestry and Climate Change Fund, Althelia Climate, the European Investment Bank ANDGreen Fund and the Andes Amazon Fund are among those speaking on a panel looking at the role of landscape restoration in tackling climate change. Emphasis will be on making a business case to mobilise private capital.

Friday 10th

17.30-20.00: In another event organised by the Inter-American Development Bank – this time in collaboration with the Nordic Development Fund, Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities and the Global Adaptation and Resilience Investment Working Group – panellists will discuss climate adaptation and resilience. The debate will explore ways to support investment resilience projects and how private companies can attract investment to help with climate risk and how investors can identify new investment tools.

16:00-17:30: An event on the role of pipelines in emerging economies; with Dr. Amal-Lee Amin, Chief, Climate Change and Sustainability Division, Inter-American Development Bank; Jean-Pascal Pham Ba, Secretary General, The Terrawatt Initiative; Steve Sawyer, Secretary General, Global Wind Energy Council.

17:00-18:30: A joint side event by the OECD and the IGES on climate disclosure with Stan Dupré from 2° Investing Initiative (also a member of the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures), Anthony Hobley, CEO of Carbon Tracker and Cristina Tebar-Less, Head of OECD Responsible Business Conduct.

17:30-19:00: A session on the role of green banks in emerging economies with Paul Bodnar, Managing Director, Rocky Mountain Institute, Andrea Colnes, International Director of the Coalition for Green Capital and Jonathan First, Head of Syndication Finance at the Development Bank of Southern Africa.

Saturday 11th

18:00-19:30: A joint event by the OECD and the Danish Energy Agency on strengthening domestic policy frameworks to mobilise clean finance and investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency; with Asger Garnak, Advisor, Ministry of Energy, Utilities and Climate, Denmark, and high-level representatives from emerging economies, international financial institutions, private investors and project developers.

Please click below to see events in Week 2
h6. Monday 13th

15:00-16.30: Christiana Figueres will kick off a session which will see discussion between Thomas DiNapoli (New York State Comptroller), Peter Damgaard Jensen (CEO of PKA, and Chair of IIGCC), Anthony Hobley (Carbon Tracker Initiative), Emma Herd (CEO of IGCC), Claudia Kruse (APG) and John McKinley (Blackrock). Fiona Reynolds (Head of PRI) and Stephanie Pfeifer (CEO of IIGCC) will moderate the panel, which will look at how investors and the financial world are changing investment practices and engagement around disclosure and climate policy. Closing remarks from Erik Solheim, Executive Director of UN Environment.

15.00-16.30: The International Finance Corporation is convening a number of its emerging markets clients to participate in a panel on climate-related investment opportunities. Sectors discussed will include clean energy, low-carbon buildings and green bonds.

16.45-18.15: The Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities will lead an event previewing innovative investment models to tackle climate change in vulnerable countries. Examples include a wide scale rooftop solar programme in Bangladesh and insurance facilities.

16.45 – 18.15: Representatives from the European Securities and Market Authority, the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures and Dave Jones, the Insurance Commissioner of California will sit on a panel moderated by 2° Investing Initiative’s Stan Dupre. They will discuss how financial policy-makers and supervisors can address financial climate risks. Closing remarks will be made by Christine Lagarde, CEO of the IMF, Angel Gurría, Secretary-General of the OCED and Valdis Dombrovskis, Vice President of Financial Stability at the European Commission.

Tuesday 14th

10:00-11.15: Representatives from WWF, Allianz Climate Solutions, PRI and 2° Investing Initiative will discuss investors’ strategies and tools to manage climate risks & opportunities .

11.30-13.00: The Mediterranean will be the subject of a talk on energy transition and climate finance. It will provide an overview of funding flows in the region and address issues of how to aid the transition.

13.00-14.30: WWF will host a panel called “Innovative Financing Models for the Transition to a Climate-resilient Future”. Speakers will include representatives from the Climate Bonds Initiative, C40 Cities Financing Facility and Kommuninvest.

13.15-14.45: Kenya has partnered with the Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands and others to share experiences of strategies that encourage private investment into NDC-aligned opportunities. It will touch on policies, instruments and tools to mobilise investment.

15.00-16.30: The German Government has organised an event called Shifting the Trillions Now! which will look at opportunities around climate-aligned investment.15.00-16.15: This session will focus on policies and standards that could encourage investment into climate opportunities. WWF is leading, joined by S&P Global Ratings’ Michael Wilkins; Aviva Investors’ Steve Waygood; UNEP FI’s Remco Fischer; UNFCCC’s Massamba Thioye (tbc); and the GCF’s Diann Black-Layne (tbc).

16.45-18.30: The Inter-American Development Bank has teamed up with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the governments of UK and Mexico to host an event on Latin America and the Caribbean. The aim is to consider ways of mobilising investment into sustainable infrastructure aligned with the SDGs and NDCs.

Wednesday 15th

08.30-11.00: ISS-Ethix Climate Solutions has partnered with Climate-KIC and FERI Cognitive Finance Institute to host a breakfast meeting to discuss how investors can help support the transition to a low-carbon economy. Attendees don’t require an official COP23 ticket to attend.

11.30-13.00: The Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change is working with North American investor body Ceres, the Carbon Tracker Initiative, the PRI, CDP, IGCC, AIGCC and UNEP FI to host an investor-focused event showcasing how investors, the finance sector and companies are working on climate-related disclosure. Keynote: Michael Wilkins (S&P Ratings and Member of TCFD) ; Panellists: Emma Herd (IGCC), James Bevan (CCLA), Willemijn Verdegaal (MN), John Stouffer (NY State Comptroller’s Office), Val Smith (Citigroup), Mark Campanale (Carbon Tracker), Fiona Reynolds (PRI) and Eric Usher (UNEP-FI) for a discussion moderated by Sue Reid (Ceres), Stephanie Pfeifer (IIGCC) and Paul Simpson (CDP).

15.00-16.30: The International Renewable Energy Agency is holding a talk on mobilising investment in renewables in Africa.

16.45-18.15: New investment ideas will be among those discussed in a panel being organised by the Green Economics Institute to discuss the possibilities and challenges of halving the global carbon budget. Participants will include policymakers, economists, bankers and traders, it says.

Thursday 16th

9.00-17.30: The Sustainable Stock Exchanges initiative is holding a full day of events on green finance. Topics will include regulation, post-issuance reporting on green bonds, green equities and the TCFD. For full details, see here.

Friday 17th

13.15-14.45: Climate think-tank 2° Investing Initiative is holding an event looking at tools that can be employed to help investors and corporates assess transition risk. Scenarios, data and models for financial analysis will be addressed.

To submit new events, please contact Sophie Robinson-Tillett by email.