Marking a significant development in the climate action arena, the inaugural COP28 Business & Philanthropy Climate Forum has announced key partnerships with leading global organizations, joining forces to drive global climate and nature action.
The forum will be hosted by the COP28 Presidency UAE on Dec. 1 and 2 later this year in parallel with the world leaders World Climate Action Summit.
It will convene 500 business and philanthropy leaders alongside policymakers to accelerate solutions and drive bolder results.
The multi-stakeholder event is driven by the UAE’s ambition to host an inclusive climate conference and seeks to gather support and foster engagement from all regions of the world.
The forum’s goal is to gather expertise and resources and strategize to address the annual financing gap of over $3 trillion, which is essential for achieving net-zero emissions, reversing nature loss, and restoring biodiversity.
The forum is partnering with prominent international organizations including Sustainable Markets Initiative, International Finance Corporation, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development – Network of Foundations Working for Development, World Economic Forum – Giving to Amplify Earth Action, Asian Development Bank, Africa Finance Corporation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and XPRIZE.
Highlighting the significance of these partnerships, the COP28 President Dr. Sultan Al-Jaber said: “Businesses and philanthropists must play leading roles in meeting net zero pathways and delivering sustainable development, and through the Business & Philanthropy Climate Forum at COP28, they will have a platform to do so.”
“The BPCF is a key part of our Presidency’s agenda to help deliver concrete outcomes from the private and philanthropic sectors. We are committed to hosting a fully inclusive COP, and it would be impossible to do this without the vital input of our business and philanthropy communities,” Al-Jaber added.
Badr Jafar, the COP28 special representative for business and philanthropy, commented on the significance of collaborative action: “Working together to create a truly inclusive action platform, the forum’s partners will be instrumental in collectively turning our aspirations into actionable outcomes for climate and nature.”
The forum will be held across both the COP28 Blue Zone and Green Zone in Expo City Dubai, at the beginning of the two-week COP28 program that runs from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12.
The two-week agenda for COP28 was developed in consultation with stakeholders from around the world in a six-week open consultation – the first such approach taken by a COP Presidency.
About 70,000 people are expected to attend COP28 UAE, including heads of state, government officials, industry leaders and academics.
