Exclusive: COP28 business chief: Era of ‘activist good, business bad’ is over
COP28 continues in Dubai this week with a host of global leaders in government, charity, public and private sectors gathering to thrash out an ambitious climate agreement.
What better time to talk to Badr Jafar, COP28’s special representative for business and philanthropy, who is tasked with rallying private sector support for climate initiatives and ensuring business is a part of the solution to climate change.
Can the world face the climate challenge without the private sector?
The involvement of businesses is absolutely critical to driving meaningful action on climate and nature. For far too long, the private sector has been on the periphery of global climate discussions, often dismissed as a part of the problem.
That has to change and that’s why COP28 featured the first ever Business & Philanthropy Climate Forum which brought together over 1,300 leaders from business and philanthropy alongside policymakers and other stakeholders to exchange ideas, co-create solutions and spur tangible action.
Private capital markets have more than doubled over the past decade, reaching over $23 trillion. The private sector could play a hugely impactful role in helping to fix climate finance and generate the investment of over $3 trillion per year that is needed to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. We simply can’t tackle climate change without the private sector’s involvement.
Why has it taken so long for business to get on the agenda at COP?
For too long now, the climate conversation has been seen through the prism of activist equals good, and capitalist equals bad. I believe that business and philanthropy, working hand in hand, are fundamental players. It’s critical that we harness the innovation and catalytic capital that both can bring to the table if we are to meet net zero. As a business and philanthropic leader, I know the power that we can have.
It’s critical that we harness the innovation and catalytic capital that both can bring to the table if we are to meet net zero. As a business and philanthropic leader, I know the power that we can have.
Badr Jafar, COP28 Special Representative for business
The Forum’s launch in the COP agenda is an acknowledgement of the power of business and philanthropy in the climate agenda.
What sets the Business and Philanthropy Climate Forum apart is that it was focused on delivering action orientated outcomes and progress. For example, on day one of the Forum we mobilized $5bn USD through several blended finance structures to turbocharge the climate transition in emerging economies.
What can governments and COP delegates do to free up private enterprise and investors to meet the climate challenge?
Involving businesses in the conversation is pivotal to making progress. Which is why the COP28 Business & Philanthropy Forum’s integration into the COP agenda and process represents and significant leap in the global climate dialogue, and shift towards a more inclusive and collaborative approach. Public-private partnerships are vital for bridging the gap between government-led climate initiatives and the innovative potential of the private sector.
COP28 and the Business and Philanthropy Climate Forum have developed a set of 22 potential actions the CEOs and philanthropists can take right away. The options are diverse and provide an accessible way for private sector leaders, government, philanthropy and delivery partners to move beyond pledges and declarations and into action and implementation.
Many businesses and countries have taken the lead on ‘going green’. How do they remain motivated to do so when different parts of the world are moving more slowly?
Achieving an equitable climate and nature transition by 2050 is going to require an ‘all hands on deck’ response from every part of the global community.
I’m really proud that at the Business and Philanthropy Climate Forum we were joined by some of the world’s leading philanthropists and CEOs with major representation from those in the Global South, who are already experiencing the frontline impact of climate change.
The options are diverse and provide an accessible way for private sector leaders, government, philanthropy and delivery partners to move beyond pledges and declarations and into action and implementation.
Badr Jafar, COP28 Special Representative for businessB
By bringing together leaders from both industrialised and developing nations, and by prioritising working together and in parallel, we were able to produce outcomes on a required scale and timeframe that cannot be achieved by working in silos. For example, we announced the new Innovate for Climate Tech Coalition which will support the development and adoption of climate-tech solutions with focus on the Global South.
Talk us through your hopes for the summit
COP28 and the Business and Philanthropy Climate Forum have developed a set of 22 potential actions the CEOs and philanthropists can take right away. The options are diverse and provide an accessible way for private sector leaders, government, philanthropy and delivery partners to move beyond pledges and declarations and into action and implementation.
We announced the Blended Finance Vehicle, aiming to develop climate related projects and businesses in emerging markets and developing economies, Climate and Nature Moonshots, an innovative venture that will fund ten innovation projects focused on renewable energy and protection of natural habitat and biodiversity, as well as the Climate Investment Platform, a climate tech fund to scale up proven climate technologies in the Global South focusing on emissions reduction. I am hopeful that these outcomes will extend far beyond COP28 itself.