COP27 PAVILION EVENTS AND RECORDINGS

Long duration energy storage is defined as energy stored for multiple hours, days or even weeks. Hear from top corporate executives that are providing technologies and services in this growing sector of the energy transition. Learn about the variety of new and emerging technology options and the essential role that long duration storage will play to fully capture and support renewable energy resources. 

Decarbonizing healthcare is a true win-win for people and the planet, reducing emissions improves global health, reduces the care burden for governments and in many cases reduces costs for industry, it is a must do. This panel will gather high level representatives from the healthcare sector to discuss the need to decarbonize the healthcare sector, the responsibility of healthcare companies and how we could shape the future of SMI through concrete actions in 2023.

When policymakers describe the just transition to a greener economy, they often point to job training programs and social protections as key policy levers to use in that pursuit. Seven years post-Paris, what empirical data do we have about how these transitions look in practice and how the transition impacts people along gender and age? Are green transitions accelerating, decelerating, or in reverse at the country level? Given COP27’s focus on implementation and EPI’s interest in supporting these transitions through human-centered approaches, this side event will examine new data and provide participants an opportunity to share how they see the data manifest in real life.

The SCC is a newly formed organization pulling together the semiconductor ecosystem organizations – from materials to chips to systems – to collectively share information and address solutions to impacts on our businesses, as well as accelerate technology that will help alleviate the impact of others.

This event will explore California’s interagency-based regulatory framework to plan and execute climate action, the diverse funding sources it has tapped, and the example the state has set for both local and international partners. It will examine both the advantages and disadvantages of the state’s multi-agency, multi-sector, and multi-mandate approach, and how lessons learned in California can inform similar efforts underway elsewhere in the U.S. and the rest of the world. In addition, it will highlight the opportunities multi-state collaborations, like the U.S. Climate Alliance, present.

BCG and SAP discuss the overall challenges companies face in trying to become sustainable leaders, and how technology can be leveraged in achieving a successful transformation while maintaining commercial success.

An equitable climate transition means that no one is left behind. Our solutions for the climate crisis must not exacerbate the affordable housing challenges we are witnessing across all major US cities. The discussion will explore the complex relationship between decarbonizing existing building stock to create a net zero future while creating and preserving affordable housing – calling for both to be addressed in tandem to secure a resilient future for major cities in the United States.

There is currently an estimated $42 billion-worth of green hydrogen-related projects being planned across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The United Arab Emirates, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Egypt have made hydrogen ambitions and commitments; UAE aims to capture 25% of the global hydrogen fuel market by 2030 and Saudi Arabia $36bln of hydrogen investments by 2030. This panel will discuss the economic, commercial, technical and regulatory requirements critical for the successful transition to hydrogen.

There are critical gaps in climate finance, both in the types of climate solutions being funded and who is being reached. To help fill these gaps, RTI has partnered with ImpactAlpha and Vibrant Data Labs to map private climate funding in low- and middle- income countries. Learn about this new climate finance tracker and visualization tool that RTI, ImpactAlpha, and Vibrant Data Labs are collaborating on for low and middle-income countries. This interactive climate finance map is the first publicly available philanthropic and private investment tool to equitably catalyze capital for climate action.  Please join a short video demonstration and informal discussion on how the tool can support connections for improved climate finance flows.

Science meets faith in this session featuring a documentary screening featuring Pope Francis, leading global climate experts, and panel discussions highlighting scientists, religious leaders, and youth.

As 1-in-50 or 1-in-100-year extreme events increase in frequency—and society increasingly depends on electricity as the economy electrifies and decarbonizes—energy grid reliability and resilience will be paramount. This event will highlight the role that IIJA and IRA can play in enhancing resiliency efforts, explore key conclusions from a new study by C2ES on how companies can support communities in addressing climate resilience, and outline efforts electric companies are taking to address resiliency concerns, including EPRI’s Climate READi (Resilience and Adaptation Initiative) program.

The United States launched the Global Methane Pledge during COP26. In support of the United States Government’s effort to continue highlighting the importance of methane mitigation in keeping the 1.5-degree warmer future during COP27, USAID will showcase the methane mitigation support it has provided to partner countries during the past year.  The panel discussion will bring together implementing partners of USAID programs in Kenya and the Dominican Republic who will discuss how their respective programs contribute to reducing methane emissions. The audience will learn about USAID’s commitment to methane mitigation, and methane mitigation co-benefits including improving public health and agricultural productivity.

What are the planetary-scale, must-have transformations for global society to halt and reverse the course of our unsustainable actions and enable an acceleration toward a society that lives in harmony with Earth’s systems? Answering that question is the purpose of the “10 Must Haves initiative,” driven by the urgency of the crises humankind faces and awareness that we are on a trajectory to miss many existing targets. An outcome of the Global Futures Conference in New York City in September, this report provides an initial effort across 10 foundational areas to help decision makers in both the public and private sectors lead the necessary changes that we know are possible to provide an opportunity for all to thrives.

Speakers:

• Dr. Peter Schlosser, Vice President and Vice Provost, Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory, Arizona State University (Earth League)
• Prof. Johan Rockström, Director, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (Earth League)
• Maja Groff, International lawyer based in The Hague, Convenor of the Climate Governance Commission
• Dr. Youba Sokona, Special Advisor for Sustainable Development at the South Centre, & former Vice-Chair of the IPCC (2015)
• Alexandria Villaseñor, Founder & Exec. Dir. At Earth Uprising, & climate justice activist

Achieving the Paris targets will require deep decarbonization throughout all sectors of the economy, as well as leveraging all available tools to channel finance towards natural climate solutions. Carbon markets have been a primary source for funding natural climate solutions to date, but to be durable and just, the markets must define and demonstrate high integrity throughout the value chain and ensure robust benefit sharing to give confidence to all actors, including governments, the private sector, civil society and forest communities. Building upon a high integrity and just framework can unlock the scale needed to achieve credible and durable climate solutions from nature.

Moderated discussion on federal and state collaboration, climate investments strategies, carbon capture, and multi-state approaches to ramping up clean energy use.

Decarbonizing the electricity grid is an essential step in reducing carbon emissions and a shift away from fossil fuels that can help cities meet bold decarbonization targets. This panel discussion will take a few examples from across the globe and review the challenges that need to be overcome to enable the delivery of offshore wind renewable power into the grid.

At COP-26, local officials joined representatives from the environmental NGO community and the private sector to start a dialogue on community engagement and investment in the clean energy transition. This event, the third installment of the dialogue, will focus on how to achieve equity and access in the transition, including how the IIJA and IRA can play a role in ensuring such outcomes.

Rich in natural resources, Québec is also rich in innovative companies. In this panel, we’ll hear from 3 pioneers who were ahead of their time in terms of environmental and social consciousness. We’ll discuss doing a 180 in terms of business model, implementing a completely new way of looking at long term development, and developing projects with local communities. Join us to discover innovations in traceability, infrastructure, and recycling.

As energy sectors around the world transition towards decarbonization, there will continue to be impacts on local communities in terms of access, affordability and costs, jobs created and lost, environmental and health, and more. The energy transition will require careful planning around these communities to ensure the transition is just and equitable. In this session, we bring together thought leadership across different stakeholder groups to discuss what a just energy transition looks like, what barriers there are to success, and how we can overcome these barriers.

Achieving the Paris targets will require deep decarbonization throughout all sectors of the economy, and trillions of dollars of investments in climate solutions. Unlocking the scale of finance needed will require purpose built green financial institutions that can help convene key stakeholders, curate viable pipelines of investable opportunities and mitigate certain risks for private investors, all tailored for local circumstances and needs. Green Banks are a successful model for effectively channeling public capital to leverage private capital to deliver real climate solutions and positive outcomes in communities in both developed and developing economies. This panel will hear from some of the leaders in building the green bank institutional framework to achieve our climate and capital mobilization objectives.

The impacts of climate change pose a significant challenge to conserving the planet’s ecosystems and biodiversity, with species being affected at an accelerating rate due to the effects of shifting climate patterns. Fortunately, new approaches with climate science and data can help us more accurately monitor potential and actual changes to land and ecosystems, and help us to better respond to drivers of habitat loss. How are these approaches currently being applied in various contexts, accounting for local conditions? How can these tools be best used/scaled up for greater impact?

Speakers:

• Tanya Trujillo, Assistant Secretary for Water and Science, U.S. Department of the Interior
• Thomas Kabigting, Legal Officer, Forest Management Bureau, Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources
• Jeff Milder, Director of Global Policy and Coalitions, Rainforest Alliance
• Robert Beach, Fellow, Agriculture, Resource, and Energy Economics and Policy, RTI International

Women in the Alliance’s two dozen states are advancing cutting-edge climate action and solutions and accelerating America’s transition to a net-zero future. Join four women leading the charge in New Jersey, Hawai‘i, Washington and New Mexico for a discussion on how they got their start, the unique perspectives they bring and challenges they face in their roles, their top climate and clean energy priorities, opportunities for collaboration, and much, much more.

GHG removal at scale will likely be necessary to achieve the Paris Agreement’s temperature goals. This session will review the opportunities and challenges of various approaches to removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, including both nature-based approaches (for example, increasing the carbon content of soils, forestry, and regenerating marine ecosystems) and engineering-based approaches (for example, direct air (CO2) capture, accelerating the oxidation of methane, and enhanced rock weathering). After providing an overview of the technical qualities and characteristics of different GHG removal approaches, the session will examine the policy and legal issues they raise.

Join this dynamic interview featuring Mission Blue and Fair Carbon on connecting nature-based carbon solutions to global market opportunities for financing ecosystem preservation.

California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara and UNEP FI Principles for Sustainable Insurance (PSI) to unveil the first state-level sustainable insurance roadmap for the largest insurance market in the United States. This event will be an interactive discussion with Commissioner Lara, Butch Bacani of the PSI, along with academic and environmental leaders on the how the strategies of this Roadmap can strengthen financial oversight, accelerate sustainable investments, catalyze new insurance products, and empower resilient communities.