Cop28 Business and Philanthropy Climate Forum to help secure tangible outcomes

Forum will bring together heads of state, governments, CEOs, philanthropists and heads of NGOs

The UAE created the forum as part of its ambition to host an inclusive climate conference that harnesses broad support and engagement from all regions. Reuters

The Business and Philanthropy Climate Forum will begin at Expo City in Dubai on November 30 with a reception attended by world leaders, business executives and philanthropists as Cop28 gets under way.

Running alongside Cop28 until December 2, the forum will bring together more than 1,000 heads of state, governments, business representatives, philanthropists and heads of NGOs to accelerate and showcase progress made on climate targets and industry transition.

The UAE created the forum as part of its ambition to host an inclusive climate conference that harnesses broad support and engagement from all regions.

“We are committed to hosting a fully inclusive Cop, and it would be impossible to do this without the vital input of our business and philanthropy communities,” Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Cop28 President-designate, said.

“The Business and Philanthropy Climate Forum at Cop28, is a key part of our presidency’s agenda, and will help deliver concrete outcomes from the private and philanthropic sectors.

“The time is now for businesses and philanthropists to step up and play a leading role in helping the world meet net-zero pathways.”

The forum will focus on collective action, discussing initiatives and outcomes underpinned by the Cop28 Action Agenda’s four key pillars of energy transition, climate finance, people and nature, and inclusion.

The showcase will consider initiatives that are working to harness the power of global decision-makers across public, private and philanthropic sectors to urgently tackle the climate crisis, achieve net-zero emissions, reverse nature loss and restore biodiversity.

Initiatives under consideration will include the Climate Investment Platform, which is a climate technology fund to scale up proven climate technologies in the Global South focusing on emissions reduction, as well as the Climate and Nature Moonshots which funds innovative projects focused on coral restoration and energy transition.

Other projects to be discussed at the showcase include the First Movers Coalition, which commits to purchasing products and services based on clean technologies to support the decarbonisation of high emitting industrial sectors.

Also under consideration will be the Indigenous People’s Outcome, which is a fund to provide direct financing for indigenous peoples and organisations to help them protect and restore nature and biodiversity.

“We are starting to create real and meaningful progress towards the green transition by putting the private sector at the heart of the conversation” Badr Jafar, Cop28 special representative for business and philanthropy and chairman of the forum, said.

“Our action-oriented agenda directed towards the world’s top decision-makers, aims to zero in on where public-business-philanthropic partnerships can accelerate, replicate, and scale while shifting the dialogue from billions to the trillions that are required.”

Jennifer Jordan-Saifi, chief executive of the Sustainable Markets Initiative, said: “A sustainable future is the growth story of our time.

“To seize it, we need to define and align country, industry and financial road maps.

“We also need to recognise and celebrate the steps leaders, companies and investors are making in the right direction.

“The Cop28 Business Philanthropy and Climate Forum is a unique opportunity for the world’s top decision-makers to work with their peers to raise ambition, assess progress and hold up the mirror of accountability”.