On 11 December 2020 at 16:00 (CET), the Climate Action in Financial Institutions Initiative is organizing a high-level online public conference 'Mainstreaming Climate to Align with Paris' to mark its 5-year Anniversary.
Overview of the Event:
At COP21 in December 2015, country representatives from around the world adopted the Paris Agreement, which sets international climate objectives, in the context of sustainable development. That same week, on the sidelines of COP21, 26 Institutions also demonstrated their commitments to acting on climate change by adopting the 5 voluntary Principles for Mainstreaming Climate Action within Financial Institutions. By doing so, they launched an unprecedented coalition of public and private financial institutions aiming to adopt a pathway to systematically integrate climate change considerations across their strategies, programs and operations.
Today, the Climate Action in Financial Institutions Initiative continues to build on the pivotal role financial institutions play in scaling up and directing financing toward investments and assets that are necessary for transitioning to low-carbon, resilient economies globally, and achieve ‘net zero’ carbon emissions in the long term. Five years on, the 5 voluntary Principles for Climate Mainstreaming continue to act as a foundation to guide financial institutions in the process of aligning all activities with the Paris Agreement objectives ensuring that climate considerations are disseminated across institutions.
Since 2015, the topic of Paris Alignment has become a central part of the financial sector’s discussions on climate change – whether by public or private institutions. Currently, the Climate Action in Financial Institutions Initiative acts as a major international forum for financial institutions practitioners to exchange on the development and implementation of emerging practices on Paris Alignment and connect the dots between both public and private financial institutions, but also with think tank experts and other stakeholders.
This event will allow the audience to hear directly from financial institutions why they are taking steps towards aligning their strategies and operations with the objectives of the Paris Agreement, where they are at, and how the financial community can build bridges to work together to contribute to these shared objectives.
Objectives:
This event aims to present to the international climate & finance community:
- Why financial institutions are aligning with the Paris Agreement objectives;
- How the 5 voluntary Principles for Climate Mainstreaming are guiding them in this process;
- Why connecting the dots between institutions and practitioners across the financial community is key to make financial flows consistent with the Paris Agreement objectives.
Provisional Agenda :
- 16:00 – 16:10 Welcome remarks – Five Years of Mainstreaming Climate to Align with Paris: Ian Cochran, Head of the Secretariat, Climate Action in Financial Institutions Initiative
- 16:10 – 16:45 High level opening with prominent representatives from the climate finance community – Where do we want to go on the alignment of financial flows? Why does Paris Alignment make financial sense? What is the business case for Paris Alignment?
- 16:45 – 17:15 Panel discussion with professionals from public and private financial institutions: Where are we in the development of alignment approaches? What are the next challenges on the road to COP26?
- 17:15 – 17:25 The Key to Success: How Can we Move Forward Together? Representative from UNEP FI (TBC)
- 17:25 – 17:30 High-Level Conclusion: On the Road to COP26