Build the future: Accelerating climate-compatible infrastructure in Africa
8 Nov 2022 | International Development Finance Club Pavilion 

Build the future: Addressing climate mobility in Africa
8 Nov 2022 | Climate Mobility Pavilion 

Build the future: The power of partnerships for climate action
9 Nov 2022 | Climate Mobility Pavilion

Build the future: Voices of the next generation
10 Nov 2022 | Climate Mobility Pavilion 

Build the future: Inclusive infrastructure for climate action
11 Nov 2022 | Climate Mobility Pavilion 

Build the future: Carbon reduction strategies for international development
16 Nov 2022 | Climate Mobility Pavilion 

Nature-based infrastructure: Challenges and opportunities to achieve the SDGs and Paris Agreement goals
16 Nov 2022 | MDB Pavilion

Low carbon and resilient infrastructure: Opportunities and Challenges for mainstreaming climate actions
16 Nov 2022 | Islamic Development Bank Pavilion 

Build the future: Accelerating climate-compatible infrastructure in Africa
8 Nov 2022 | International Development Finance Club Pavilion 

Climate-compatible infrastructure investments in Africa remain far below estimated needs despite bold commitments by financiers, requiring urgent collaborative actions from financiers and governments to address barriers and scale-up investments to advance climate action.

Building on UNOPS experience with national governments and data-driven tools such as the Sustainable Infrastructure Financing Tool (SIFT), the session explored practical actions to address the barriers to climate infrastructure investment – especially for early stage projects and sectors with limited commercial viability.

This session sparked expert dialogue to identify and prioritize high-impact solutions and policy measures urgently needed to mobilize investments for climate-compatible infrastructure in developing countries.

Panel:

• Moderated by Ifeoma Esther Charles-Monwuba, UNOPS Director and Representative in Ghana

• Patricia Appiagye, Former Deputy Minister for the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology and Innovation (MESTI) and current Member of Parliament, government of Ghana

• Gisele Saralegui, Global Climate Head, IFC Public-Private Partnership Advisory

• Jon-Pierre Fourie, Senior Director, Strategy and Investors Relations, Africa50

• Dominic O’Neill, Executive Director, Sanitation and Hygiene Fund

 Back to top

Build the future: Addressing climate mobility in Africa
8 Nov 2022 | Climate Mobility Pavilion 

Estimates reveal that by 2030, up to 118 million people in Africa will be exposed to drought, floods and extreme heat, which will hinder progress towards poverty alleviation and development. The continent also faces a significant financing gap to build the necessary resilience and adaptive capacity to respond to climate change. 

This event brought together African leaders and the development community to discuss the drivers of climate mobility in Africa and how best to respond to increasing climate migration, with a focus on frontline communities. 

A panel of experts discussed ways to build resilience in Africa, including the critical role of climate-resilient infrastructure and adjusting productive systems to a new climate reality. The panel also explored the need for rapid and resolute emergency and recovery responses when climate disasters hit, such as Cyclone Idai in Southeastern Africa in 2019 or the current drought in the Horn of Africa. 

Panel:

• Moderated by Shahira Amin, award-winning journalist based in Cairo

• Jens Wandel, UN Under-Secretary-General and UNOPS Acting Executive Director

• Igor Gildas Tola Kogadou, REDD+ National Coordinator, Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development ,Central African Republic

• Blanca Moreno Dodson, Director, Center for Mediterranean Integration

• Anthony Nyong, Regional Director for Africa, Global Center on Adaptation

• Benjamin Toirambe, Secretary General, Ministry for the Environment and Sustainable Development, the Democratique Republique of Congo

 Back to top

Build the future: The power of partnerships for climate action
9 Nov 2022 | Climate Mobility Pavilion 

To mitigate and adapt to the global impacts of climate change, new partnerships and solutions are critical.

This event showcased the importance of convening multi-stakeholder partnerships for climate action. A panel, which gathered representatives from UNOPS supported initiatives, discussed how diverse partnerships contribute to the mobilization of expertise and financing to advance action, showcasing examples of innovative approaches to accelerate collaboration for climate action.

Panel

• Moderated by Émilie Potvin, UNOPS Director of Partnerships

• Keynote address by Jens Wandel, UN Under-Secretary-General and UNOPS Acting Executive Director

• Dr. Blanca Moreno-Dodson, Director, Center for Mediterranean Integration

• John Cotton, Senior Programme Manager, Southeast Asia Energy Transition Partnership

• Atle Solberg, Head of Secretariat, Platform on Disaster Displacement

 Watch the event | Back to top

Build the future: Voices of the next generation
10 Nov 2022 | Climate Mobility Pavilion 

The science is clear: We are leaving an unsafe climate to young people and future generations. The poorest and most vulnerable people in the world are being hit hardest by climate change, and typically have fewer available resources to cope with loss and damage.

In this session led by the EU youth delegate to the UN, we heard impactful stories from youth, displacement experts and frontline communities most affected by climate change. After coming face-to-face with real-life stories of those affected, a panel explored the solutions needed to stem the destruction wreaked by the climate crisis on lives, livelihoods and infrastructure.

Panel:

• Moderated by Nadia Gullestrup, EU Youth Delegate to the UN

• Opening remarks by Émilie Potvin,UNOPS Director of Partnerships

• Keynote address by Jayathma Wickramanayake, UNSG Envoy on Youth

• Ayisha Siddiqa, Environmental Advocate and Co-Founder of Polluters Out

• Olumide Idowu, Co-founder of International Climate Change Development Initiative

• Anita Soina, Environmental Advocate and Founder of Spice Warriors Kenya

• Atle Solberg, Director of Platform on Disaster Displacement

 Back to top

Build the future: Inclusive infrastructure for climate action
11 Nov 2022 | Climate Mobility Pavilion 

Every year, more than 21 million people are displaced due to weather-related hazards that are exacerbated by climate change. Women and marginalized groups are disproportionately at risk to the impacts of climate change – including displacement.

The session focused on the nexus of infrastructure, inclusion and gender equality, and climate action, particularly in relation to achieving inclusive development outcomes and climate justice for climate refugees and displaced people.

UNOPS presented its new paper on inclusive infrastructure for climate action at the event.

Panel:

• Moderated by Daphne Ewing-Chow, Senior Contributor, Forbes

• Keynote by Émilie Potvin, UNOPS Director of Partnerships

• Samantha Stratton-Short, Head of Strategic Initiatives, UNOPS

• Jevanic Henry, Assistant Research Officer, Climate Change, Commonwealth Secretariat

• Liakath Ali, Director, Climate Change Programme and Urban Development Programme, BRAC

• Matthew Kennedy, Advisory Board Member, UN CTCN and Associate Director, Climate Services and Sustainability, Arup

• Heather Rosenberg, Associate Principal and Americas Resilience Discipline Leader, Arup

 Watch the event | Back to top

Build the future: Carbon reduction strategies in international development
16 Nov 2022 | Climate Mobility Pavilion 

According to the 2021 Net Zero Economy Index, we need to reduce the carbon intensity of our activities by 12.9 per cent a year if we are to accelerate to a net zero world. Currently, we are achieving less than a fifth of that rate – and it's clear no one actor can achieve this alone.

In this panel discussion, UNOPS and the UN Environment Programme Copenhagen Climate Center shared initial findings from its carbon footprint reduction strategy work to ignite a discussion on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction strategies.

The event benefited UN organizations as they continue to align their strategies and operational models with the goals of the Paris Agreement and SDGs, and close gaps that still exist on Scope 3 emissions calculation and tracking.

Panel:

• Moderated by Henry Neufeldt, Head of Impact Assessment and Adaptation, UNEP Copenhagen Climate Centre

• Samantha Stratton-Short, UNOPS Head of Strategic Initiatives,presented the key findings/messages from the UNOPS and UNEPCCC ongoing study

• Gisele Saralegui, Global Climate Lead Infrastructure and Public-Private Partnership Advisory, International Finance Corporation

• Thomas Thompson, Chief Strategic Engagement, Supply Chain Division, World Food Programme

• Idriss Ismael Nour, Deputy Director of Pollution, Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, DjiboutiThomas Thompson, Chief Strategic Engagement, Supply Chain Division, World Food Programme

• Thomas Fohgrub, Strategic Lead of the Coordination Unit, Global Platform for Action on Sustainable Energy in Displacement Setting

Watch the event | Back to top

Nature-based infrastructure: Challenges and opportunities to achieve the SDGs and Paris Agreement goals
16 Nov 2022 | MDB Pavilion 

Nature-based solutions are an essential component of the overall global effort to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. They are a vital complement to decarbonization, reducing climate change risks and establishing climate resilient societies. They value harmony between people and nature, as well as ecological development and represent a holistic, people-centred response to climate change.

As more research is conducted on the nexus between climate change and nature-based solutions, UNOPS in collaboration with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) is conducting a study to assess how nature-based solutions in infrastructure facilitate delivery on the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement.

Preliminary findings from the joint report were shared at the event. The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) also provided perspectives from their experiences working with nature-based solutions and shared examples from their work.

Panel:

• Moderated by Olatunji Yusu, Senior Climate Change Specialist, IsDB

• Opening remarks by Dr. Hiba Ahmed, Director General, IsDB

• Keynote speech by Mario Boccucci, Head of Secretariat UN-REDD Program, UNEP

• Daouda Ndiaye, Officer in Charge, Climate Change and Environment at IsDB

• Samantha Stratton-Short, Head of Strategic Initiatives, UNOPS

• Nitin Jain, Global Lead Infrastructure and Nature-based Solutions, Global Center on Adaptation

 Watch the event | Back to top

Low carbon and resilient infrastructure: Opportunities and Challenges for mainstreaming climate actions
16 Nov 2022 | Islamic Development Bank Pavilion

According to research by UNOPS, UN Environment Programme and the University of Oxford, infrastructure is responsible for an estimated 79 per cent of total greenhouse gas emissions, with most emissions associated with energy, buildings and transport. There is thus a need to decarbonize to avoid locking in high emitting infrastructure for decades to come, whilst doing so in an integrated way across sectors and economies. Since infrastructure influences all 17 SDGs and 92 per cent of the targets, consideration of mitigation impacts in infrastructure decision-making will be pivotal to achieving the various targets and objectives of both the Paris Agreement and the SDGs.

This event provided an opportunity to discuss adaptation and decarbonization related issues in infrastructure including approaches, policies and technologies with an aim to encourage and facilitate the much-needed transition and paradigm shift towards a low carbon economy.

Panel:

• Moderated by Samantha Stratton-Short, Head of Strategic Initiatives, UNOPS

• Opening remarks by Dr. Hiba Ahmed, Director General, IsDB

• Nicole Poindexter, CEO, Energicity Corp

• Gisele Saralegui, Global Lead for Infrastructure and Public-Private Partnership Advisory, International Finance Corporation

• Atiq Ahmed, Global Lead Transport Specialist, IsDB

• Nicolas Guichard, Head of Energy Unit, French Development Agency

Watch the event | Back to top