The Business and Philanthropy Climate Forum at COP28, focuses on implementing tangible solutions to global climate and nature challenges.
This year’s COP 28 conference will see more than 1300 CEOs of organizations and leaders from charitable enterprises representing over 100 countries.
The Forum seeks to address key priorities outlined in the COP 28 agenda, such as energy transition, climate finance, nature conservation, and inclusivity.
Its objectives encompass safeguarding Earth’s natural heritage and biodiversity, funding adaptation plans, and fostering more sustainable agricultural systems and practices.
The Forum serves as a platform for practical and actionable solutions, bringing together diverse stakeholders to tackle pressing issues on a global scale.
COP28 Special Representative for Business and Philanthropy and Chair of the Forum Badr Jafar stated that the gathering marks a pivotal breakthrough in global climate discourse.
According to Jafar, the Forum will bring together a significant number of business leaders and philanthropic innovators to convey a powerful message about the importance of collaboration and comprehensive action for all.
Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat on the sidelines of COP 28, Jafar said: “Dr. Sultan Al-Jaber, the President of COP 28, calls for what he terms effective change in the working approach that energizes the private sector and its resources with a passion for climate issues.”
“This Forum provides vital sectors with a platform to contribute effectively to shaping global climate policies,” added Jafar.
“The vision of the COP 28 President is committed to adopting a working methodology that supports energy transition, improves climate finance, and focuses on solutions mindful of human and environmental needs, ensuring that all initiatives are inclusive,” he explained.
Emphasizing that the Forum will be a dynamic interactive platform, Jafar highlighted that it will provide participating delegations with an unprecedented opportunity to pledge new responsibilities and goals, outlining a clear path for the next steps and required actions.
“The primary objective of the Forum is to enable the private sector to take practical steps that move them from the realm of theoretical agreements and commitments to the practical world of implementation and tangible results,” said Jafar.
Jafar explained that $3 trillion is the total global investment required annually to achieve the net-zero emissions goal by 2050.
Developing countries need investments totaling $2.4 trillion each year until 2030 to meet the Paris Agreement targets and address issues like biodiversity loss, land degradation, and soil deterioration.
“We will need radical natural solutions costing $8 trillion from now until 2050,” Jafar told Asharq Al-Awsat.
“These amounts are undoubtedly enormous, reflecting the magnitude of the risks at stake. The stark reality increasingly evident to us is the impossibility of mobilizing these trillions, or even coming close to doing so, without the ingenious involvement of the private sector with its innovative capabilities, resources, and expertise,” he explained.
As per Jafar, the challenge lies in the absence of a global framework that organizes collaboration among all capital sources swiftly and on an extremely broad scale.
