Leaders convene in Davos to hasten climate and nature action

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Global leaders from across business, philanthropy and policy have convened for a high-level session at Davos, to discuss how best to ensure the private sector takes an active role in the climate action agenda.

At the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting, the session titled ‘COP28-COP30 – A Drumbeat for Business & Philanthropy’, discussed how best to take forward the successful Business and Philanthropy Climate Forum held at COP28 in Dubai.

The roundtable discussion, hosted by Badr Jafar, COP28 Special Representative for Business & Philanthropy and CEO of Crescent Enterprises, and Brian Moynihan, Chair of the Sustainable Markets Initiative and Chairman and CEO of Bank of America, convened key stakeholders to discuss strengthening engagement with business, philanthropy, subnational authorities and civil society, with a view to establishing a more structured and integrated engagement between various actors required to deliver the aims of the historic UAE Consensus delivered at COP28.

Over 50 attendees

Over 50 attendees from across policy, business and philanthropy were in attendance, including Secretary John F Kerry, US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco, Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of International Cooperation of Egypt, Brian Moynihan, Chair of the Sustainable Markets Initiative and Chair and CEO of Bank of America, HSH Prince Maximilian von und zu Liechtenstein, Chairman of LGT Group, Nassar Al Mubarak, Chief Executive Officer, Reaching the Last Mile, Andrew Steer, Bezos Earth Fund, Frederick Kempe, president and chief executive officer of the Atlantic Council, David Miliband, President of the International Rescue Committee, Maria Mendiluce, CEO of We Mean Business Coalition, Desmond Kuek, CEO of Tamasek Trust, Anil Soni, CEO of WHO Foundation, Robert Moritz, Global Chair of PwC, Lim Seok Hui, CEO of the Philanthropy Asia Alliance, Vanessa Kerry, WHO Special Envoy for Climate Change and Health, Ana Toni, Secretary for Climate Change at the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change of Brazil, and Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of UN Climate Change.

Jafar said: “Addressing climate change requires an all-hands-on-deck approach, and the private sector has a unique role to play in moving the climate agenda from pledges to action and implementation. The overwhelming response from business and philanthropy at COP28 clearly demonstrates the seriousness of the private sector to step up with money and solutions, and it is upon us to fully harness this momentum to ensure we move forward in an integrated way, embracing a multistakeholder approach to climate action.”

Implementation gaps

Attendees discussed the existing implementation gaps in the climate action agenda, and how commitments from private sector participants to continue to accelerate, replicate and scale efforts globally can ensure that business and philanthropy engagement at COP29 and COP30 is about showcasing real world progress, and scaling investment and delivery on equitable industry transitions.

Moynihan said: “The private sector, working with government and philanthropy, is bringing the capital, the ingenuity, and the talent to help drive the progress we are seeing in the transition to a sustainable future. We saw that come to life at COP28 and look forward to the work ahead.”