COP29 Flagship Friday Evening Event - Climate Finance & Innovation: Adaptation & Resilience
As the main Friday night event during the only Friday of COP29, we are bringing together the key movers and shakers amongst the COP29 attendees, across industries, for one of the only cross sector events during COP29.
Through connecting important figures from different sectors and geographies, we help facilitate the multi-stakeholder approach that will be necessary to tackle the Climate Crisis. 🌍 💚 SABAH.HUB, Top Tier Impact, Avestu and our lead sponsor Water Garden Farms and partners Artemis Growth Partners, Kidron Capital, EcoNetix and Hydreatio are excited to be working on this flagship event that will be one of the highlights of COP29 🚀
Adaptation and resilience finance, which should be accelerating to catch up with ever increasing natural hazards, remain inadequate, with less than 10% of climate finance dedicated to adaptation - despite clear benefits and needs. Developing countries face a climate adaptation finance gap of USD 194-366 billion annually, expected to rise to USD 315-565 billion by 2050—10 to 18 times current funding levels. Disaster risk reduction financing has seen minimal growth over the past 30 years. Financing innovations, not just cutting emissions, is critical to address the Climate Crisis.
COP29 comes at a flagship moment with topics such as Climate Finance, Innovation and the Just Energy Transition being key themes in the first ever COP to take place in the Central Asian region - and the first COP widely dubbed as both a ‘Finance' and 'Peace' COP. This event will explore cutting edge solutions that are necessary to bridge the climate finance gap, alongside investment opportunities and novel financing policy mechanisms, and the role of cross-regional collaboration to help innovate our way out of the climate crisis.
Seize the opportunity to discuss the latest technological innovations, shape geopolitical discourse, and drive impactful policy change.
This event aims to provide the perfect forum to influence, connect, and catalyse systemic change across global Climate Finance, Technology, Venture Capital, Entrepreneurial and Policy ecosystems. Both location - the Innovation and Digital Development Agency (IDDA) Ministry of Azerbaijan’s newly opened Azerbaijan Innovation Center - and timing have been chosen specifically to ensure that the most high profile figures are able to participate without clashing with other programming during COP.
Current running order:
🤝 17.00 - 17.30 Networking
💬 17.30 - 17.40 Opening Remarks
🗣️ 17.40 - 17.50 Keynote Speaker (Inara Valiyeva, Chairperson of the Innovation and Digital Development Agency of Azerbaijan)
💰 17.50 - 18.30 Panel: “Climate Finance & Investment Opportunities”
🌱 18.30 - 19.10 Panel: “Cross-Regional Cooperation to Innovate Our Way out of the Climate Crisis”
💧19.10 - 19.40 Panel: "Water in the Balance: Alternative Climate Finance Approaches to Address the Water Scarcity Challenge"
💬 19.40 - 20.00: Impact Makers - Meet the Pioneers
🎤20.00-20.05: Closing Remarks
🥂 20.05 - 22.00 Networking Drinks & Canapés
Speakers:
1st panel on “Climate Finance & Investment Opportunities”:
Humberto Juarez Rocha, Carbon and Biodiversity Editor at Dow Jones OPIS
Carlotta Saporito, Head of Impact Investing at J.P. Morgan Private Bank
Gianpiero Nacci, Director, Sustainable Business and Infrastructure at EBRD
Ana Lucia Lind, CEO and Co-Founder at Swiss Financial Engineering AG
Serhat Cicekoglu, Founder at Sente Ventures
Avinash Persaud, Special Advisor on Climate Change to the President of the Inter-American Development Bank
2nd panel on “Cross-Regional Cooperation to Innovate Our Way out of the Climate Crisis”:
Abbas Kazmi, Co-Founding Partner at SABAH . fund and BlackWood Ventures
Gary Soleiman, Global Partnerships and Climate Tech Innovation Diplomacy Lead at Start-Up Nation Central
Eva Kazanskaia, CEO, Vanguard Ventures & Managing Partner at Renevables
Hajar Khamlichi, North Africa Director at Pooled Fund on International Energy
Anna Pluzhnikova, AI Team Lead & Venture Investor at OakNorth
Femi Akinrebiyo, Global Manager, Manufacturing Investment & Trade Supplier Finance at IFC - International Finance Corporation
3rd panel on "Water in the Balance: Alternative Climate Finance Approaches to Address the Water Scarcity Challenge":
Kostis Tselenis, Managing Partner at Swiss Impact Office
Dennis Levine, CEO and Founder at Water Garden Farms
Christoph Schwager, CEO and Co-Founder at Hydreatio
Dr. Paul Nimmerfall, Co-Founder at EcoNetix
Paul Buysens, Co-CEO at Incofin Investments
William Muecke, Co-Founding Managing Member at Artemis Growth Partners
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How To Get Involved 🤝
The event is a great opportunity for you to meet and connect with some of the most important and interesting individuals, entities, government figures and experts in the sustainability and tech ecosystems across the world - all in a relaxed and enjoyable setting in the heart of Baku!
🔗 NOTE: This is an exclusive event with curated F&B offerings, completely free for our attendees. Please register using the form (you will be e-mailed upon successful registration).