Dr. Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and COP28 President-Designate, rang the famous opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange to help raise awareness of climate finance in the US business community, as he began a programme of activities on the second day of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
This week, the COP28 Presidency is attending the 78th session of the General Assembly, and New York Climate Week, to advance its Action Agenda and consult with world leaders from politics, business and other sectors on how to deliver progress at COP28, being held in the UAE at the end of this year.
In addition to his engagement at the New York Stock Exchange, a major focus on the Dr. Al Jaber’s day was announcing the greater involvement of cities and sub-national decision makers in COP28.
He joined Michael R. Bloomberg, UN Special Envoy on Climate Ambition and Solutions, to announce the COP28 Local Climate Action Summit – the first formal summit designed to bring subnational leaders into the COP programme.
Hosted by the COP28 Presidency and Bloomberg Philanthropies, the COP28 Local Climate Action Summit will convene subnational climate leaders, such as mayors, governors, business executives, non-government organisation heads, and more, into the heart of the COP process.
The role of local leaders in climate action is a key focus area for the COP28 Presidency’s Action Agenda, under the pillar of full inclusivity.
The President-Designate also attended the second Earthshot Prize Innovation Summit today, alongside Earthshot Prize founder HRH Prince William, Prince of Wales, and other distinguished guests. The Earthshot Prize is a global environmental prize to discover, accelerate, and scale ground-breaking solutions that can help put the world firmly on a trajectory toward a stable climate.
Continuing his focus on finance for the day, Dr. Al Jaber also attended a high-level roundtable on climate finance, organised by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ), which focused on private capital mobilisation in emerging and developing markets (EMDEs).
Other attendees included Mark Carney, Co-Chair GFANZ and UN Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance, Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director, IMF, Ajay Banga, President of the World Bank, Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, Janet Yellen, US Treasury Secretary, and Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin, UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for Egypt.
Dr. Al Jaber also held a series of one-on-one consultations and discussions with high-level figures, including Alok Sharma, former President of COP26, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva and Costas Simitis, the former Prime Minister of Greece.
The President-Designate is being accompanied in his visit to New York by the wider COP28 Presidency team, including COP28 Director-General, Ambassador Majid Al Suwaidi, COP28 CEO Adnan Amin, UN Climate Change High-Level Champion of the COP28 Presidency Razan Al Mubarak, and Minister of Community Development and Youth Climate Champion for COP28 Shamma Al Mazrui.
Ambassador Al Suwaidi delivered a speech at the International Emissions Trading Association’s opening ceremony on harnessing the power of markets and collaboration in scaling high-integrity voluntary carbon markets.
Razan Al Mubarak delivered opening remarks at a roundtable hosted by the Bezos Earth fund and SalesForce to amplify the science-based goal of accelerating finance, policy, and technology to restore and protect 15 million hectares of mangroves by 2030.
She also spoke at an event hosted by the Women’s Environment and Development Organisation to share insights into the gender outcomes she is prioritising as the UN Climate Change High level Champion for COP28.
