At COP29 Azerbaijan, Razan Al Mubarak, UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for COP28, had the privilege of hosting and moderating several key discussions aimed at bridging the distance between all interested parties in effective climate action, as well as driving the momentum for nature finance and private sector investment.
The Ambition Loop Dialogue on Finance, hosted alongside Nigar Arpadarai and James Grabert, Director of Mitigation, UNFCCC Secretariat, brought together High-Level Climate Champions, the UNFCCC, and both Party and non-Party stakeholders to explore how real-economy leadership can drive private finance to the areas that need it most. The discussion delved into the importance of accelerating private sector finance through an ambitious climate finance package, addressing the New Collective Quantified Goal agreed at COP29, investable Nationally Determined Contributions, and other policies that enable private finance.
Ms. Al Mubarak also hosted the Marrakech Partnership Special Event: Making Progress on Nature Finance: From Cali to Belem. This high-level roundtable gathered leaders from governments, public and private financial institutions, and Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities to discuss actions needed to increase ambition on nature finance starting COP16 Colombia in Cali and toward COP30 in Belem. The session explored how to best advance synergies between climate and nature finance, ensuring greater transparency, reporting, and accountability.
Together, Ms. Al Mubarak and Ms. Arpadarai marked the Official Opening of the Marrakech Partnership Global Climate Action Agenda with a fireside chat, where Ms. Al Mubarak shared her priorities and key accomplishments over the past two years as High-Level Champion. Overall, the goal was to showcase the robust work of the real economy in advancing climate action and to remind Parties of the importance of continuing to steward the Action Agenda, ensuring its leadership from COP to COP.
These events were pivotal in driving forward the critical conversations around nature finance, transparency, and the urgent need for collaboration across sectors to meet climate and biodiversity goals, set on the Paris Agreement and under the Global Biodiversity Framework. Ms. Al Mubarak looks forward to building on these discussions and advancing the ambitious outcomes that will guide us all to COP30 and beyond.