Inogen Alliance Presence at COP28: Panel Discussion Side Event, 4 December in the Blue Zone

Inogen Alliance will have a presence at the upcoming COP28 held in Dubai. UN’s COP (Conference of the Parties) is the largest annual climate summit driving action to address global warming across world leaders, country delegates, representatives of business, civil society, local communities and media.

The event titled “Practices to Strengthen Financing for Climate Transition through Public and Private Interventions” will take place 4 December, 16.00 – 18.00 in the Azerbaijan Pavilion (MS01G1) in the Blue Zone. 

Our Associate Sustainera in Azerbaijan is leading this event with support from our Associates Antea Brasil, Integral Consult Egypt, and Tonkin+Taylor New Zealand with speakers and a panel discussion.

The Inogen Alliance panel event aims to identify proper channels for accessing finance through the GCF (Green Climate Fund) which would mobilize investments by the private sector; explore and promote effective strategies and practices that enhance Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) which promotes investment by the private sector for a successful transition toward a low emissions and climate-resilient future. This event will delve into the means and examples of how to access funding by GCF and the critical role of ESG principles in shaping investment decisions and financial mechanisms to combat climate change and foster a more sustainable global economy.

Sustainable finance, including the increasing array of related financial products, is attracting the attention of private sector investors, policy makers, and civil society stakeholders because of its potential to deliver long-term enterprise value that aligns with societal values and contributes to sustainability and climate-related objectives. Despite noteworthy progress, considerable challenges still hinder the potential for these approaches. Access to adequate finance by governments which can mobilize private sector investments in climate action for most developing countries is still lagging behind. Different sources of finance, including the Green Climate Fund (GCF) are available channels for governments. The GCF offers several options to prepare countries to be ready to access such finance including readiness activities, project proposal facility and others.   

One of the most important avenues for the private sector to be ready to identify, prepare, and implement climate action is through proper Environment, Social and Governance practices. Challenges facing the private sector to implement such practices include, the promulgation of different approaches, data inconsistencies, lack of comparability of ESG criteria and rating methodologies, as well as inadequate clarity over how ESG integration affects asset allocation. Important opportunities around partnerships and the scaling of solutions are likely to be generated as well.

ESG ratings, which are applied to companies representing around 80% of market capitalization in 2020, have evolved in recent years to incorporate long-term financial risks and opportunities in investment decision making processes. At the same time, the environmental ‘E’ pillar score of ESG rating is being increasingly used as a tool to align investments with a low-carbon transition, and a range of financial market products and measurement approaches have developed to help investors align portfolios with specific climate-objectives and strategies in line with the Paris Agreement. Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) plays an important role in identifying the support needed and received for climate action. 

Panelists and Speakers include:

Dr. Abdel-Aziz, Chairman of Integral Consult, our Associate in Egypt, with more than 29 years of experience, including climate mitigation projects in the energy, industry and waste sectors. Dr. Abdel-Aziz worked on the preparation of Iraq country program submitted to the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and on the preparation of Georgia’s Technology Needs Assessment (TNA) which included concept notes to be submitted to the GCF. 

Dr. Abdel-Aziz has been extensively involved in the negotiations process and is currently a senior advisor to COP27 presidency team leading on mitigation and transparency issues. He is also the advisor to the Egyptian Minister of Environment on climate change issues since 2014. He was also the Like-Minded Group of Developing Countries transparency coordinator during the negotiations of the Modalities, Procedures and Guidelines of the Enhanced Transparency Framework of the Paris Agreement. He is an expert in emissions projections with UNFCCC and a lead reviewer for reviewing Annex I Parties national communications, biennial reports and GHG inventories and has also led technical analysis teams for non-Annex I Parties BUR. 

Gulnara Aslanbayli is Executive Director of American Chamber of Commerce in Azerbaijan since 2020. Ms. Aslanbayli has previously worked with the  I.C.E. Istituto Commercio nel Estero as a Senior Trade Analyst.  Amcham Azerbaijan is the leading business association in Azerbaijan and recognizes the pivotal role that business communities play in addressing climate change. Since becoming executive director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Azerbaijan, Gulnara Aslanbayli has initiated a new direction in activity of the Chamber related to the sustainable development. Inspired by this strategy, the Chamber organizes various events to encourage the private sector of the country to the climate-focused actions.

AmCham Azerbaijan believes that the private sector is a key driver of sustainable development. As Amcham encourages its members to embrace ESG principles, we hope it will help Azerbaijan to leverage these unique experiences to contribute to a future that is both environmentally conscious and economically vibrant.

Ilkin Haji is Founder of Sustainera Solutions, our Associate in Azerbaijan. I.H is a professional specialized in sustainable development and project management.  Ilkin worked with various UN Agencies, inter alia United Nations Industrial Development Organization’s Office in New York as Sustainable Development Expert, UN Development Programme, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Azerbaijan International Development Agency. His areas of expertise are project management in international development context, financing for development, South-South and Triangular cooperation, partnership building, resource mobilization and science and technology for sustainable development.

Hilton Lucio is a Brazilian senior consultant and CEO of our Associate Antea Brasil, with 27 years of experience in Environmental Global Projects, covering the areas of manufacturing, mining and agriculture. Mr. Lucio’s most recent work is around the construction of frameworks and partnerships for the implementation of large scale solutions for environmental problems. Hilton is also a member of the Inogen Alliance Board of Directors.

Dr Brett Ogilvie is Executive Leader - Digital + Sustainability and a Board Director of Tonkin + Taylor Group, our Associate in New Zealand. He has more than 30 years’ international experience in consulting, management and governance, working with clients in numerous sectors including transport, water, energy, extractives, industry, central and local government and international development. Brett holds undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications in science and a degree in economics. He has worked in more than 25 countries in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the Pacific and has governance experience as a director or trustee on private sector, public sector and non-profit boards in NZ and the USA. He is a Member of the Institute of Directors (NZ) and a Member of the Chartered Institute of Water & Environmental Management (UK).

If you are attending COP28 please stop by our event 16:00 - 18:00 in the Blue Zone, Azerbaijan Pavilion (MS01G1) or connect with us to get in touch with our consultants at the event! Watch for more content to come out of our attendance at this important climate conference.

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