ESG MENA conducted a brief interview with Prof. Deepak Chopra, founder of The Chopra Foundation, at the Global Women’s Forum. He outlined his vision for Africa’s progress towards sustainability, and how to enhance the focus on mental health.
From Bridgetown to Nairobi to Paris, no country is immune to the worsening effects of the climate crisis. With each passing year, we witness more climate-related destruction. In 2024, we have set a number of new records: wildfires in Chile have destroyed more than 14,000 homes; extreme rainfall in Brazil has devastated 478 cities and left nearly two million people stranded in Bangladesh; and in July the world experienced its hottest day ever.
Africa has contributed only 3% of historical greenhouse-gas emissions, yet it endures some of the most severe climate-related disasters. These now cost the continent $15 billion per year, with climate-induced droughts and floods in 2023 causing food insecurity for more than 40 million Africans.
Convinced that no country should have to choose between fighting the climate crisis and combating poverty, we have decided to contribute to an ambitious reform of the international financial architecture. The Paris Pact for People and the Planet, the Bridgetown Initiative, and the Nairobi Declaration each seek to provide one piece of the puzzle. Current international dynamics give us hope: many reform tracks have been opened up, and some have delivered results. That said, many more efforts are needed, and no options should be overlooked.
One key piece is still underused: “solidarity levies.” Such policies are necessary to ensure that everyone contributes their fair share to what should be a global effort. There are swaths of the economy which are largely under-taxed yet polluting the planet. This applies to maritime shipping, aviation, and, of course, the fossil-fuel industry, which enjoys low effective tax rates due to government subsidies (totaling an estimated $7 trillion in 2022, according to the International Monetary Fund).
These levies can contribute by allocating a share of the revenues to developing countries. A global levy of 0.1% on stock and bond trades could raise up to $418 billion per year. A levy on shipping of $100 per ton of carbon dioxide could raise $80 billion per year. A levy on fossil-fuel extraction of $5 per ton of CO2 could raise $210 billion per year. Even a partial redistribution through solidarity levies would guarantee a large source of predictable climate finance for these countries, thus complementing flows of official development assistance without amplifying existing debt burdens.
The benefits would be significant. Despite Africa’s climate vulnerability, its vast potential to leverage renewable energy and critical minerals, and its role as a global carbon sink, the continent receives far less climate finance than it needs. Solidarity levies could provide the funding needed to drive green development in Africa and around the world, especially in vulnerable low- and middle-income countries and small states with little fiscal room for building resilience or climate action.
These levies already exist. More than 30 countries currently implement a financial transaction tax, and at least 21 have a levy on airplane tickets. Moreover, even small-scale initiatives such as the International Oil Pollution Compensation Funds demonstrate the feasibility of an international redistribution mechanism. To replicate and scale up these models requires further international cooperation to limit market distortions and preserve a level playing field.
To that end, we launched the Global Solidarity Levies Task Force last year at COP28. With 13 member countries already, the task force has been examining the potential of levies across shipping, aviation, fossil fuels, and financial transactions, as well as exploring options like levies on plastic or cryptocurrency. In early 2025, we will publicly launch a handful of concrete proposals with rigorous impact assessments. These will be scalable – raising at least $100 billion per year – and accompanied by clear assessments of potential externalities.
As we head toward COP30 in Belém, Brazil, next year, political leadership will be essential to the initiative’s success. COP29 this month will provide the right opportunity to discuss our options and get on track for success. Our plan is to hold a special event for heads of state and government to marshal further support for our solidarity-levies coalition. This is a crucial opportunity to ensure that the United Nations’ New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance incorporates solidarity levies and unlocks climate-finance flows that are both ambitious and equitable.
When it comes to additional sources of finance, experts often allude to “innovative finance.” In the case of global solidarity levies, the only innovation required is ambitious leadership across a sufficient base of countries. Let the tenth anniversary of the Paris climate agreement next year be remembered as the moment when we came together as a global community to implement solidarity levies, providing the financial tools necessary to meet the great challenge of our time. Ahead of COP29, we call on all governments to join our coalition, and we welcome the support of civil society, business leaders, and multilateral institutions.
By Emmanuel Macron, Mia Amor Mottley, and William Ruto.
Emmanuel Macron is President of France. Mia Amor Mottley is Prime Minister of Barbados. William Ruto is President of Kenya.
Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2024.
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While efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change will remain a top international priority for decades to come, the most urgent risks from global warming require immediate action and new ideas. As UN Secretary-General António Guterres said at the Pacific Islands Forum in Tonga last month, “If we save the Pacific, we save the world.”
Since the Paris climate agreement was signed eight years ago, much progress has been made to create a more sustainable economy, with new technological solutions allowing countries to maintain strong growth while also reducing carbon-dioxide emissions. Governments, businesses, and households are increasingly determined to support climate investments. Renewable energy is becoming businesses’ first choice for electricity generation. Innovation is boosting the competitiveness of green alternatives. And financial institutions are allocating more than $1 trillion each year to green projects.
In this context, sustained and concerted action at a global level will be the key to success. Yet the progress has been too slow for the world’s most vulnerable regions. For people living on small islands and grappling with rising sea levels, extreme weather, and ocean warming, climate change is already an existential threat. Despite their minimal carbon footprints, these regions are at the forefront of the problem. Their challenges today will become the global crises of tomorrow.
For small islands, adaptation is critical. Caribbean and Pacific Island states, along with parts of Latin America, Africa, and Asia, face many more severe climate-related problems than other parts of the world. They also are more vulnerable financially. Whether borrowing money to recover from natural disasters or investing to strengthen their resilience to climate change, they face higher interest rates, and these additional costs come at the expense of investments in health and education.
As the world leader in humanitarian and development aid, the European Union is one of the closest partners that small island states and other vulnerable regions have in combating climate change. Under the EU’s Global Gateway investment strategy, we have put our money where our mouth is, because our commitment reflects both genuine solidarity and common sense. We know that the costs of a disorderly green transition would far exceed the costs of investing in climate adaptation and mitigation right now. The gradual, credible changes that we make today are what will spare us the massive economic, social, and environmental damage caused by unchecked climate change.
A few recent examples illustrate our commitment. In Kiribati, a small island state in the central Pacific, rising sea levels may render many islands uninhabitable within a few decades. So, the EU and its financial arm, the European Investment Bank, are working with the World Bank and other international financial institutions to study the possibility of building a new seaport, which will help relocate people from smaller islands to safer ground. Such projects can be a beacon of hope for vulnerable populations everywhere.
In the Caribbean, where violent storms and rising temperatures are straining water infrastructure and the surrounding seas and marine ecosystems, an EU-backed water management and clean oceans program will provide expert support to launch water projects in 15 Caribbean countries. This work will improve water security, sanitation, solid-waste management, and flood protection, as well as helping to preserve our oceans.
The EU and EIB are also pooling resources to transform the way Cabo Verde (an island country off the coast of West Africa) uses and produces energy. This ambitious project will assist the government’s plan to phase out fossil fuels by 2040. By focusing on renewable energy and storage, it will cut pollution and significantly benefit Cabo Verde’s water sector, which relies heavily on desalination – a highly energy-intensive process. With far-reaching environmental and economic benefits, such investments will make Cabo Verde a model for sustainable development across the region.
Finally, in Barbados, we are supporting investments to help deal with floods and hurricanes. One project, in partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank, will improve sewage treatment and groundwater management, and we are also supporting a system to recycle wastewater for agricultural use. To enable these investments, we are funding a “debt for climate conversion” program that responds to Barbados’s particular financial needs in the bond market.
These projects demonstrate what meaningful support for small island states looks like. The Global Gateway program is helping not only with adaptation and water security, but also with renewable energy, digital innovation, education, health care, and green transportation.
In each case, we need to think differently, because we are confronting challenges that none of us has seen before. Tackling climate change is the most important mission of our time, and innovation and new ideas are essential. By working together to implement them, we will provide a better world for the world’s most vulnerable populations – and for us all.
By Nadia Calviño, President of the European Investment Bank and Jutta Urpilainen, European Commissioner for International Partnerships.
© Project Syndicate 1995–2024
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Almost one in four US members of Congress are climate change deniers, all of whom are Republicans, according to research from The Center for American Progress (CAP).
Against a backdrop of “overwhelming” scientific evidence of human-caused climate change, the Center periodically analysed statements by sitting members of Congress to determine their position on the crisis.
It found that of the members of the 118th US Congress, 123 elected officials are climate deniers— 23 per cent of 535 total members.
CAP’s research also revealed that while outright climate denial is the most commonly understood term, this is only one type of an “ever-widening” array of tactics.
Indeed, the Center also detected subtler forms of obstruction emerging, which may “further delay action on the climate crisis,” it said.
These elected officials were found to “redirect” responsibility for addressing the crisis, spread misinformation, and present climate activism as doomism and alarmism.
The report also found that these climate change deniers, comprising 100 representatives and 23 senators, have received $52,071,133 in lifetime campaign contributions from the fossil fuel industry.
Texas Senator Ted Cruz was found to be the climate change denier who had received the most fossil fuel funding at $5m.
“While not every member who has received fossil fuel contributions is a climate denier, many are in positions of strong influence over environmental policy,” the report said.
Senator Mitt Romney and Senator John Cornyn both received the most fossil fuel contributions, at $9,791,954 and $5,160,111, respectively.
However, according to the report, the two are not categorised as climate deniers.
Instances of “outright climate denial” can be seen in the words of the majority leader in the house, Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA), who himself has received over $2 million in total career fossil fuel contributions. Scalise, for example, was quoted as saying: “We’ve had freezing periods in the 1970s. They said it was going to be a new cooling period. And now it gets warmer and gets colder, and that’s called Mother Nature. But the idea that hurricanes or wildfires were caused just in the last few years is just fallacy.”
According to the report, among the 90 newly elected or appointed members of the 118th Congress, 18 are climate deniers.
At the same time, the research did indicate a “downward trend” in climate denial, from 150 in the 116th Congress, 139 in the 117th, and now, 123 in the 118th Congress.
However, CAP noted that “employing and spreading misinformation, conspiracy theories, and denials” are not strictly limited to climate change.
Indeed, the analysis revealed that 90 of the 123 climate deniers in the 118th Congress also publicly denied the legitimacy of the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.
“Elected officials and the fossil fuel industry must be held accountable for their misleading and deceptive statements on climate change,” commented Kat So, a campaign manager for Energy and Environment Campaigns at CAP and author of the report.
“Their refusal to accept scientific consensus and continued spread of misinformation are a major obstacle to addressing the climate crisis,” added So.
The analysis comes ahead of the 2024 presidential election in November.
This year is a historic election year, with almost half the world’s population heading to the polls. It is also a critical moment for the climate, in what some scientists are saying could be the hottest year on record, following a record-breaking 2023.
In the shadow of this, there is much debate about what the outcome of the US election, and more specifically, a second Trump term, could mean for climate policy.
Indeed, while the former President and real estate tycoon has seemingly flip-flopped on his climate change beliefs over the years, he has repeatedly denied climate science and called climate change “a hoax,” while the Trump administration itself rolled back over 100 climate policies.
In a recent conversation with Telsa chief exec and X boss Elon Musk, Trump said that rising sea levels would mean “more oceanfront property.”
“The science is clear: Americans cannot afford to ignore the realities of global climate change,” the report reads.
“Climate-fueled extreme weather events continue to cost American lives and billions of dollars year after year, and the intensity and frequency of these events will continue to increase without action to address the causes of climate change.”
The ninth session of the UAE-Azerbaijan Joint Intergovernmental Commission (JIC) for Economic, Trade and Technical Cooperation witnessed the two countries agree to develop an economic partnership.
The session, attended by several senior officials and government and private sector representatives from both sides, detailed that this partnership would extend across entrepreneurship, SMEs, new economy, tourism, aviation, industry, innovation, technology, agriculture, food security, logistics, culture, energy, investment and renewable energy.
The latter was reportedly a “major area of focus,” with the session exploring prospects for partnerships to launch new projects, particularly in power generation, and for organising workshops for experts from both countries on energy efficiency improvement.
HE Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy, said: “The latest JIC session is a key milestone in strengthening the economic ties between the UAE and Azerbaijan. The meeting discussed several vital economic sectors that have the potential to drive the sustainable development of both economies. We are keen to work closely with our Azerbaijani partners to open up new avenues for collaboration and create diverse opportunities in various sectors, thereby supporting the sustainable growth of both economies.”
Both parties also agreed to establish joint work teams consisting of members from relevant entities from both sides to explore further opportunities for economic collaboration in priority sectors at both government and private sector levels.
Further, under the partnership, the two will provide “comprehensive support” for exporters and importers to facilitate and enhance the exchange of goods and services, as well as to diversify them, it was shared.
Recent election victories for leftist parties in France and the United Kingdom may herald a new era of climate policymaking in Europe. Britain’s new Labour government has ambitious plans to expand renewable-energy capacity; and, although tricky coalition building remains, the climate-skeptic far right has been thwarted in France.
One hopes this momentum can be carried into the G20 ministerial meeting in Rio de Janeiro on July 24. There, rich countries will consider Brazil’s pioneering proposal for a 2% annual minimum wealth tax on the world’s billionaires. Such a tax, along with new climate-financing instruments that are expected to be announced, could support investments in green growth, climate adaptation, and measures to address inequality within countries.
But new investment vehicles will not suffice. As our experience with COVID-19 showed, purely market-based approaches were not enough to tackle a pandemic, nor can they help counter environmental destruction or the world’s yawning wealth gap. Even the rich world is starting to move away from the neoliberal orthodoxy of privatization and deregulation. But as long as developing countries remain hamstrung by the old rules, they will struggle to develop their own economic models and shape their own destinies.
Where previously Western free-trade advocates decried China’s use of protectionism and subsidies to favor strategic sectors, now these practices are de rigueur in advanced economies. The United States is pumping tens of billions of dollars into domestic electric-vehicle and battery manufacturing through the Inflation Reduction Act, using the state to stimulate investment and job creation in green sectors. But addressing climate change is a global struggle, and international trade rules generally do not allow developing countries to boost their own industries in this way. For example, Indonesia – the global leader in nickel, a critical metal in EV batteries – has been punished at the World Trade Organization for pursuing an industrial strategy.
Thus, while neoliberal policy prescriptions fall out of favor in developed economies, they are being repackaged in green boxes for less affluent ones. Policymakers in high-income countries can rely on costly industrial policy levers like tax incentives and loan guarantees, whereas developing countries have no such luxury. The latter must figure out how to create jobs, reduce inequality, and decarbonize their economies all with a much more limited set of tools and technological capacity.
Moreover, richer countries are pushing developing countries to “leapfrog” to renewables at an unrealistic pace. They fail to recognize developing countries’ need for limited fossil-fuel use in the short term, or that unfair trade rules are limiting poorer countries’ access to affordable green technology and cheap capital. Such double standards are indicative of the same power imbalances observed in recent years when wealthier countries hoarded vaccines, slashed aid budgets, and failed to deliver on past climate-finance promises.
This hypocrisy has not gone unnoticed. Authoritarian populists such as former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, Argentinian President Javier Milei, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan have each promoted the narrative that climate policies undermine economic growth. That may be true in many cases, but only because of the trade-offs imposed by neoliberal policies.
If developing countries could shape their own policies, climate investments would drive job creation and inclusive growth. Governments that are being asked to green their economies need flexible financing at concessional rates. They also would benefit from progressive national and international tax schemes that build on recent successes such as the UN Tax Convention, an effort led by developing countries to democratize tax rules and claw control away from closed shops like the OECD.
The waning of neoliberalism gives developing and emerging economies a chance to cooperate on the design of a new paradigm. By devising state-led models that link green strategies with socioeconomic development, they can shield the climate agenda from attacks by authoritarian opportunists. Just as there are different types of capitalism, there are different paths to green development.
Consider Mexico, a manufacturing powerhouse and oil producer that has just elected a climate scientist, Claudia Sheinbaum, to the presidency. Her administration aims to invest $13.6 billion in renewable energy, with a goal of meeting 50% of electricity demand through zero-carbon sources by 2030. If done right, these efforts should promote job creation and reduce inequalities, with state-owned enterprises being leveraged to support the deployment of green technologies. The encouraging announcement of a new ministry overseeing science and innovation could also support the development of advanced manufacturing and high-tech industries.
Brazil is also well positioned to pioneer green policies for the developing world. Freed from Bolsonaro’s destabilizing rule, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s administration is pushing sustainable development and tax reform. If it can effectively coordinate its industrial policy, infrastructure aims, and green initiatives like the Ecological Transformation Plan, it could power ahead with a robust green growth agenda at home, while expanding its regional and global influence as the host of this month’s G20 meeting and next year’s United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30).
We can build a new world of climate justice and social equity on the ruins of neoliberalism. To succeed, we need new economic structures that are informed, actively shaped, and maintained by low- and middle-income countries. A fairer global order requires more robust, proactive states that can design and implement policies to drive economic growth, job creation, inequality reduction, and decarbonization.
By Laura Carvalho, Director of Economic & Climate Prosperity at the Open Society Foundations, Associate Professor of Economics at the University of São Paulo.
© Project Syndicate 1995–2024
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Health and security services company International SOS has released its Risk Outlook 2024 Report.
On behalf of the organisation, Ipsos carried out an online survey among 675 business leaders and security and health professionals across 82 countries and found that 74 per cent of surveyed risk management experts believe geopolitical tensions will significantly impact their organisations in 2024.
Further, 38 per cent of experts believe their organisations are not equipped to respond to or mitigate the effects of social or civil unrest.
Meanwhile, three-quarters of respondents expect employee mental health to have a significant impact on their organisation this year.
It found that 80 per cent say that their organisation’s employees or operations are likely to be impacted by stress and burnout in the next 12 months. However, 41 per cent said their organisation is “unprepared” to respond to or mitigate employee stress and burnout.
Elsewhere, the report revealed that 48 per cent of organisations’ operations have been impacted by climate change, and 72 per cent reported extreme weather as a challenge to operations and employees in the next 12 months.
For the full Risk Outlook 2024 report, head here.
Now that the quinquennial electoral tussle for seats in the European Parliament is over, European politicians must shift quickly from competing against one another to helping Europe compete globally. Even though Europe desperately needs to strengthen its collective industrial might, internal divisions and rivalries have long stood in the way. Now, the newly agreed intergovernmental priority list confirms this as a core theme for the European Union in the years ahead.
Although European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has been nominated by heads of state for another term (subject to the approval of the newly elected Parliament), her record on industrial policy is lackluster. To boost Europe’s industrial competitiveness under a renewed mandate, she will need to appeal across national borders and political boundaries.
As matters stand, major industries that are critical to the green transition are dominated by China, which has increased its exports of electric vehicles by 70% since 2022 and now produces 86% of all solar photovoltaics. But the rules of the game are changing fast. US President Joe Biden recently imposed 100% tariffs on Chinese EVs, and his historic Inflation Reduction Act will allocate up to $1 trillion of investment in domestic clean-energy production by 2032.
Meanwhile, the EU’s response has been slow and timid. The Net-Zero Industry Act was a good first step; but because it lacks the ambition and the resources of its US and Chinese equivalents, it leaves the EU at risk of falling behind in key sectors. New tariffs on Chinese EVs were the EU’s only real option in the current geopolitical climate. But singular protective measures like these won’t be enough to secure long-term competitiveness.
A fundamental part of the problem is that Europe is running at two speeds. While its economic powerhouse countries simultaneously prop up their traditional industrial bases and invest in new clean industries, weaker regions’ economic potential remains largely untapped. This applies to whole countries and also to regions within member states.
This geographic distribution of industries is based not on economic potential but on member states’ fiscal firepower. Between March 2022 and June 2023, Germany and France accounted for a staggering three-quarters of state aid granted in the EU, while many other countries struggled to offer any industrial support at all. As a result, companies are concentrated in areas that are already well off, rather than in those that make the most strategic sense.
This results in major inefficiencies. Consider, for example, that 60% of Europe’s solar-energy supply comes from less sunny northern countries – with the highest photovoltaic capacity being in Germany. Establishing green production facilities in areas with the highest economic potential not only would boost Europe’s overall competitiveness; it also would bring jobs and investment to regions in dire need of economic revitalization.
In the case of European steel, for example, the most energy-intensive parts of the regional value chain could be relocated to places with the cheapest energy, thus reducing prices. The European steel industry and all industries downstream from it would become more cost-competitive, and economically weaker and stagnating regions would benefit from modernization, jobs, and new investments. With a coordinated approach to identifying and capitalizing on regional advantages in renewable-energy capacities, workforce availability and skills, and other cost factors, sectors essential for the transition could become more competitive.
Moreover, some of the unique strengths of regions within the EU remain under-used. The success of “heat-pump valley” in Poland, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic is a good example of what regional innovation and production hubs can achieve. But seizing this opportunity requires politicians and policymakers to see the value of a unified European approach. Given the scale of the US and Chinese industries, no individual member state can hope to succeed alone in today’s fast-changing international industrial landscape.
Although green industries are expected to dominate markets in the future, much of the needed technology does not yet allow investors to break even. Approximately 60% of the investment needed to make the EU carbon-neutral by 2050 lacks a short-term business case. State support will be needed to fill this gap until these technologies are mature enough to compete on their own; and governments also must ensure that European companies can avail themselves of adequate infrastructure and qualified labor.
The success of the €723 billion ($780 billion) post-pandemic Recovery and Resilience Facility shows that the EU is able to provide such targeted financial assistance. EU-level funding dedicated to supporting industries in strategically selected regions can help those economies eventually thrive without state aid. And by making subsidies “progress-dependent” (according to various social and environmental benchmarks), ineffective spending can be minimized, and improved competitiveness can be almost guaranteed.
In fact, targeted, progress-dependent support for high-potential locales can be the basis of a unified industrial policy at the EU-level. A pan-European strategy can enhance economic cohesion, bring “future-fit” jobs to left-behind regions, and break inefficient path dependencies. Moreover, the current industrial centers would also gain from this approach, because relocating some production to cost-efficient regions would reduce their own input costs.
With a shift in mindset that sets aside internal rivalries and focuses on harnessing Europe’s untapped potential, EU policymakers can give European industry what it needs to power the continent toward a prosperous, sustainable future.
By Jakob Hafele, Co-Founder, Executive Director, and Head Economist at the ZOE Institute, an independent think tank dedicated to future-fit economies.
© Project Syndicate 1995–2024
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The governments of the United Arab Emirates and the Republic of Azerbaijan recently wrapped up a two-day Ministerial Experience Exchange Forum in Baku, where representatives from the two explored strategic partnerships.
In Baku, set to host COP29 in November, leaders participated in a series of ministerial dialogues as part of a program of more than 20 sessions and meetings.
It was shared that the forum aimed to promote bilateral cooperation and communication between government leaders and follows the signing of a strategic partnership between the two countries in 2022 to promote the exchange of government expertise across seven pillars, including:
- Government excellence,
- Government services,
- Capacity building,
- Competitiveness and statistics,
- Policies and strategies,
- Government accelerators, and
- Government performance.
The forum covered key topics, including economic diversification & investment, ecology and green energy in relation to the pursuit of low-carbon economies, education, health, social well-being, public service and innovation, regulatory frameworks, and creating a business-friendly environment in both Azerbaijan and the UAE.
Discussions also touched on both the UAE’s hosting of COP28 and Azerbaijan’s preparations to host COP29 later this year.
In attendance as part of the UAE’s delegation was H.E. Ohood Khalfan Al Roumi, Minister of State for Government Development and the Future, who pointed to the world “entering a new era defined by new trends,” such as digitalisation, technological advancement, smart public services and government accelerators, and sustainability.
Elsewhere, H.E. Ulvi Mehdiyev, Chairman of the State Agency for Public Service and Social Innovations under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, noted: “Economic cooperation between Azerbaijan and the UAE has reached new horizons, especially in the field of green energy. Our partnership represents a forward-looking, proactive approach to development in various areas of common interest.”
This week, an honouring ceremony was held in Abu Dhabi to recognise the contributions of politicians, former heads of state, policymakers, and indigenous people to COP28 and its outcome. There, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Abu Dhabi, awarded international officials the First Class Order of Zayed II medal.
At the ceremony, His Highness thanked recipients for their efforts towards the climate summit, which resulted in the UAE Consensus, an agreement to transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems in “a just, orderly and equitable manner.”
The ceremony was attended by H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan; Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan, Adviser for Special Affairs at the Presidential Court; Dr. Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and COP28 President; Sheikh Abdulla bin Mohammed Al Hamed, Chairman of the National Media Office (NMO), and a number of officials.
Honorees included:
- Dan Jørgensen, Minister for Development Cooperation and Global Climate Policy, Denmark, who was part of the Global Stocktake ministerial pair, which contributed to consultations with Negotiating Groups and Parties.
- Yasmine Fouad, Minister of Environment, Egypt, who was highlighted as a “vocal advocate” of the UAE and COP28 Presidency, as well as part of the finance ministerial pair, which contributed to consultations with Negotiating Groups and Parties.
- Dr. Muawieh Radaideh, Minister of Environment, Jordan, a COP28 Presidency Advisory Committee member who reportedly advocated for COP28 among parties.
- Alioune Ndoye, Former Minister of Environment, Sustainable Development, and Ecology Transition, Senegal, and Chair of the Least Developed Countries Negotiating Group, who supported in garnering inputs and support among the most climate-vulnerable countries on the UAE Consensus outcomes.
- Ruslan Edelgeriev, Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, Russia, who reportedly provided “key support” in driving consensus on the Global Stocktake and negotiated outcomes.
- Ambassador Pedro Luis Pedroso Cuesta, former Chairman of G77 and China, Cuba, who was a “strong supporter” of COP28 and played a key role in unifying the G77 and China around COP28 draft negotiated outcomes, especially the Global Stocktake.
- Ambassador Fatumanava-o-Upolu III Dr. Pa’olelei Luteru, Permanent Representative to UN, Samoa, and Chair of the Alliance of Small Island States, who helped to ensure small island developing states’ input and support in the final decisions, particularly on mitigation and Loss and Damage.
- Mark Carney, UN Special Envoy for Climate Action, who was called a “supportive partner” to the UAE, particularly concerning the delivery of key Presidential Action Agenda outcomes across climate finance and energy.
- Jennifer Jordan-Saifi, CEO, Sustainable Markets Initiative, who was a firm advocate of COP28 and facilitated the engagement of senior government leaders.
- Kate Hampton, CEO, Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, a COP28 Presidency Advisory Committee member who provided valuable advice in the lead-up to and during the climate summit.
- Badr Jafar, CEO, Crescent Enterprises, a dedicated COP28 Presidency Advisory Committee member and Special Representative for Business and Philanthropy who mobilised multistakeholder engagement at the Business & Philanthropy Climate Forum to advance net zero and nature-positive goals.
- Ajay Banga, President of the World Bank Group, who was a “firm advocate” for the UAE in the lead-up to the climate conference, especially on advancing climate finance outcomes and reform of the international financial system.
- Larry Fink, Co-founder, Chairman and CEO of BlackRock, a COP28 Presidency Advisory Committee member who provided counsel to COP28 in the run-up to the conference and beyond.
- Dr. Vera Songwe, Chair and Founder of the Liquidity and Sustainability Facility, who was highlighted as “instrumental” in helping COP28 deliver the Global Climate Finance Framework and climate finance outcomes.
- Hindou Ibrahim, President of the Association for Indigenous Women and Peoples of Chad, who was a committed member of the COP28 Presidency Advisory Committee.
- Prof. Carlos Lopes, Chair of the African Climate Foundation Board, a member of the COP28 Presidency Advisory Committee who lent his support and guidance to COP28.
- Dr. Agnes Kalibata, President of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, who provided expertise on food systems transformation and supported the delivery of the COP28 UAE Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems and Climate Action.
- Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency, who was a “supportive partner to COP28” and mobilised global cooperation and co-convened four high-level energy dialogues in the lead-up to COP28.
- Prof. Saleemul Huq, who was a “passionate advocate” for addressing climate challenges affecting the world’s most vulnerable, and was posthumously honoured. He passed away at 71 in October 2023, with his wife, son and daughter accepting the award from His Highness the President.
- Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, former President of Iceland, who provided “political guidance and counsel” as a COP28 Presidency Advisory Committee Member.
- John Kerry, former US Presidential Climate Envoy, who was described as an “active and loyal” partner to the UAE in the lead-up to and during COP28 by enhancing global cooperation and advocating for COP28.
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