25 November 2024 - We came to COP29 with 4 asks to unlock private sector ambition and galvanise the private sector’s participation in delivering a net zero and nature-positive economy.
Here we look back at the takeaways from all of our key discussions on these topics during the conference:
A robust and inclusive New Collective Quantified Goal on climate finance
The Centre for Sustainable Finance hosted a closed-door roundtable, with representatives of the finance sector, to discuss the role of blended finance in supporting emerging markets with a just and nature-positive transition.
Key insights from the discussions included:
Blended finance is one tool in the toolbox, it won’t always be an appropriate tool
Very few people really have the skills and experience to establish blended finance structures
Blended finance can be misused or overused, sending unhelpful signals to the market
Pension funds have a critical role in investing in emerging markets given fiduciary duty and lower return expectations, but blended finance is not always needed
Clarity over when to use which blended structures, with use case examples (with financial data included) would be helpful
Risk perception remains a key issues, hard data to demonstrate actual risk / return would be helpful"
The Corporate Leaders Groups (CLG) delegation engaged Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) during a closed-door roundtable at COP29.
The discussion included CLG member businesses, as well as representatives from CISL and We Mean Business Coalition, and focused on what business needs from the European parliament to drive action on climate change and to build on the theory of competitive sustainability.
Key takeaways included:
Both businesses and investors are looking for consistency, clarity and security across policy. When policies are rolled back (e.g. ban on internal combustion engine vehicles), the incumbent often wins rather than the innovative companies trying to scale up clean technologies.
It's important for the delegations to finalise all aspects of Article 6; and business would like to see steps towards global carbon pricing.
Work is needed on the overall narrative of competitiveness: we need to be brave and show that this is not just about climate, but also about the economy; it’s not just environmental, but industrial. The benefits to markets, business and economies is vast and winning on the climate and nature agenda will give a competitive edge to those who engage.
This COP also needs to deliver on finance – and it needs to be good enough to keep trust with the Global South. Strong statements from countries are needed with their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and their New Collective Quantified Goal on finance (NCQG) for business to invest and get finance moving.
There is a need for a Capital Market Union. This is the easiest way to deploy capital and free up capital requirements for certain critical infrastructure – not just renewables, but also extensions such as batteries.
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) require support to help them with reporting requirements. We shouldn’t forget the SMEs who find it hard from capacity and capability POV to complete those requirements.
It’s time to drive forward implementation plans and bring in real-world solutions – we can’t keep discussing without actioning.
Our upcoming Competitive Sustainability Index report will provide policymakers, corporate decision-makers, researchers and other interested civil society stakeholders with insight and evidence that bolsters the paradigm shift in economic thinking that the sustainability transition represents: Business Leadership: changing the story
Ambitious and investable Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)
Our UK Corporate Leaders Groups event at the end of week one at the UNFCCC convention convened a group of experts to discuss the intersection between climate and nature in its panel discussion ‘From NBSAPs to NDCs: bringing climate and nature together to raise national ambition.' Business is waking up to the challenge of including nature in risk calculations and action plans. But there is still a long way to go.
At COP16 in Cali, Colombia, which wrapped up last month, ended without all countries submitting their NBSAPs and without a conclusive outcome. International moments must be seen holistically, better integrating climate and nature at a national and international level.
This was discussed by Tony Agotha, Special Envoy for Climate and Diplomacy, European External Action Service; Fiona Duggan, Global Sustainability Senior Manager, Unilever; Simon Henzell-Thomas (he/his), Global Director Climate & Nature, Ingka Group (IKEA); Stuart Brocklehurst, Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Business Engagement and Innovation, University of Exeter; and Angela Pinhati, Chief Sustainability Officer, Natura.
Takeaways from the discussion included:
We need to speak in terms that people understand, especially in terms of health – it’s about us and our children, our health and wellbeing. And one of the most important things is that we recognise that link and create that awareness.
But nature is misunderstood. Everything we rely on is nature, but people tend to only think of species loss rather than biodiversity loss. Something must be done to get the nature narrative understood better.
What's needed to happen between COP29 and COP30? “Money, money, money,” said Henzell-Thomas. “We haven’t had a breakthrough on this yet. And we need an effective working finance mechanism else we won’t be able to reach our goals.”
The financing debate was a challenging one at COP16 in Cali, Colombia, and the conversation on nature is further behind than climate. “The outcome from COP16 was woeful,” suggested Brocklehurst. “The lack of submitted NBSAPs and national commitments was disappointing, and we cannot let this happen again. COP16 is a warning to COP29.”
That said, some big businesses – Unilever included – have pushed for NDCs to be integrated with NBSAPs, as it understands that biodiversity loss is an emerging risk for its business. Therefore, its climate action plan now has both nature and climate targets.
Away from the main negotiations, CISL’s Corporate Leaders Groups and Corporate Leaders Network (CLN) hosted an informative panel on the move to clean energy systems on the UN climate conference's Energy Day.
Facilitated by CLG UK Director, Beverley Cornaby, and Tsvetelina Kuzmanova from CLG Europe, the event welcomed a roster of experts from across business and policy-making, ensuring that key collaborations and discussions happen not just in the plenary rooms but in the pavilions, too.
It concluded with a special fireside chat with Chris Stark, Head of Mission Control for Clean Power 2030, who described the UK's ambitious NDC announcement of 81% earlier in the week as a "genuine sign of leadership".
Key spokespeople and their takeaways:
- María Mendiluce, CEO, We Mean Business Coalition urged businesses to rally around its Fossil to Clean campaign and to push for fossil-fuel phaseout alongside tripling renewables and doubling energy efficiency.
- Aoife Blanchard, Project Manager at CISL, presented the CLN’s #MoreRenewables campaign asks, highlighting that robust laws are a crucial enabler for tripling renewable energy capacity by 2030.
- Gonzalo Saenz de Miera, Director of Climate Change and Alliances, Iberdrola, emphasised the importance of investing in grid networks as well as renewables and expressed high hopes for the EU’s Green Industrial Deal.
- Matt Hinde, Head of EU Affairs, National Grid, highlighted that "without transmission, there is no transition" and echoed the CLN’s call for harmonisation of laws across regions to unlock more renewables.
- Simon Henzell-Thomas,Global Director Climate & Nature, Ingka Group (IKEA), announced that IKEA will invest €1.5billion as part of its renewable energy transformation. He highlighted permitting as the biggest challenge for IKEA and said that companies are asking for regulation and policy certainty.
- Jan Dusík, Deputy Director, DG CLIMA, said that the new European Commission is very clear on its course with 90% emissions reductions by 2040 proposed, and plans to release the new Green Industrial Deal in its first 100 days, also emphasising the importance of competitiveness and business buy-in.
- Chris Stark provided closing reflections on how the UK can get to clean power by 2030, expressing hope for the next offshore wind auction and declaring that the UK has enough projects in the pipeline to get to clean power. It’s now about prioritising them and focussing on delivery.
- Both Chris and Jan received CLN’s business letter calling for urgent action to enable the renewable energy transition.
Watch the recording of the session here.
A high-integrity carbon market infrastructure
CISL also officially launched the Ibero-American Business Network for Green Growth in partnership with CLG CHILE and the Grupo Español para el Crecimiento Verde (Spanish Green Growth Group).
CISL’s Corporate Leaders Network for climate action (CLN) will act as the new network’s secretariat, and looks forward to working with corporate leaders, business advocacy groups, and other key Latin American stakeholders committed to green growth across the region.
The event was opened by Gonzalo Saenz de Miera, Director of Climate Change and Alliances at Iberdrola, who set out the collaborative vision and four priorities for the Ibero-American Business Network for Green Growth (IABNGG):
1. Renewable energy infrastructure
2. Carbon markets and Article 6
3. Sustainable Resource management including critical minerals
4. Land use and regenerative agriculture
The panel event on the initiative and priority advocacy areas in the region was moderated by Carmen Navarro Gomez, Managing Director at the Spanish Green Growth Group, with contributions from Beverley Cornaby, Director of Policy and Systems Change Collaborations at Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL); María Teresa Ruiz-Tagle V., Executive Director at CLG Chile; and Gonzalo Saenz de Miera. Valvanera Ulargui, Director General, Spanish Office for Climate Change, provided compelling closing remarks.
Read the full story on the launch of the network:Ibero-American Business Network for Green Growth launched at COP29 in Baku | Corporate Leaders Groups
4. A working Loss and Damage Fund that leverages private risk markets
At COP28, countries agreed to fund and operationalise the landmark ‘Loss and Damage Fund’, designed to support countries dealing with unavoidable climate damage. For vulnerable developing countries – that have usually done the least to contribute greenhouse gases to the atmosphere – climate damage represents a new burden that they will struggle to cope with. At COP29 we asked the Parties to agree upon a working Loss and Damage Fund that leverages private risk markets.
Read our report Risk sharing for Loss and Damage: Scaling up protection for the Global South which offers a breakthrough plan in the design of the global architecture for Loss and Damage using the economic efficiency of risk capital markets, which can convert modest annual flows from donors into major contractual entitlements for vulnerable countries when disasters strike, now and through to 2050.