COP26: Official UNFCCC side event - Financing a Green, Resilient and Inclusive COVID-19 Recovery in Asia and the Pacific

Official UNFCCC Blue Zone side event organised by Asian Development Bank, National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES) and the Carbon Trust bringing together multilateral institutions, governments, private sector and policy experts to discuss innovations in financing and fiscal incentives that have the potential to support a green, resilient and inclusive recovery in Asia and the Pacific region.

Register
Lecture/debate
Tue, 9 Nov 2021 3:00pm - 4:15pm GMT Free Side Event Room 3 - Derwentwater, Blue Zone, SEC

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted economies worldwide. For the first time in over 20 years, the poverty rate has dramatically increased, pushing 124 million people into extreme poverty in 2020 alone. It has reversed progress in health and life expectancy, disrupted learning and wiped-out millions of jobs, challenging governments to map out possible recovery pathways. At the same time, climate change impacts continue globally, as evidenced by the 50-billion-dollar climate-related disasters in 2020. And despite the temporary reduction in global CO2 emissions during the COVID-19 forced confinement, the world is still not on track to deliver the Paris Agreement targets and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

But the global COVID-19 crisis also presents us with a unique opportunity to kick start a transformation of our development approach through a green, resilient and inclusive recovery and address the dual crisis. To do this, countries need to mobilize large amounts of stimulus funding and direct this to the right types of investment supported by institutional and policy reforms. For countries struggling with limited fiscal space, especially developing nations, public funding is not sufficient to support the recovery. An effective menu of financing instruments and mechanisms is required and strong participation of the private sector is key.

Why attend?

This side event will bring together multilateral institutions, governments, private sector and policy experts to discuss innovations in financing and fiscal incentives that have the potential to support a green, resilient and inclusive recovery in Asia and the Pacific region. The event will also explore the important role of fiscal policy, cross-sectoral collaboration and creating an enabling environment for the private sector to scale and continue effectively to building back better.

Speakers

  • Helen Mountford, Vice President, Climate and Economics, World Resources Institute (WRI)
  • Bambang Susantono, Vice President for Knowledge Management and Sustainable Development, Asian Development Bank (ADB)
  • Anouj Mehta, Unit Head, Green and Innovative Finance and the ASEAN Catalytic Green Finance Facility (ACGF), Asian Development Bank (ADB)
  • Kei Gomi, Head, Fukushima Regional Collaborative Research Centre, National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES)
  • Anna Mazmanyan, Deputy Minister of Environment, Minister of Environment, Republic of Armenia
  • Hannah Evans, Senior Manager, the Carbon Trust
  • Rosemary Idem, Senior Specialist - Energy, Sustainable Energy for All

 

This session will be streamed live on the day at 15:00 GMT via the COP26 Side Events Youtube channel.