Next week more than 70,000 people from around the world will descend on Dubai to take part in COP28.
The UAE’s COP28 Presidency has made no secret of its ambition to make this the most inclusive and consequential COP ever.
Much of that effort has focused on elevating the voices of historically underrepresented communities. But it has also involved transforming the way the COP process engages with business.
That’s why COP28 will feature the first ever Business & Philanthropy Climate Forum. It will bring together 1,000 leaders from business and philanthropy alongside policymakers and other stakeholders to exchange ideas, co-create solutions and spur tangibleaction.
Not only is there no time to waste. There is also no need to wait. In fact, we already have a set of 22 potential actions that CEOs and philanthropists can take right away.
One of the most substantial impacts that business and philanthropy stakeholders could make is to help fix climate finance.
It is estimated that global investments of over USD 3 trillion per year will be required to enable the world to achieve net zero emissions by2050.
Under the right conditions, the private sector could play the mostconsequential role in generating the multiplier effect required to take us from billions to trillions and meet that shortfall.
However, for far too long, business and philanthropy have been on the periphery of global climate discussions, often dismissed as a part of the problem.
This has been a terrible missed opportunity. Private capital markets have more than doubled over the past decade, reaching over $23 trillion. Philanthropic capital – by its nature more flexible and patient than other forms of finance – amounts to well above $1trillion dollars every single year.
Combined, these private capital flows are key to unlocking accessible, affordable and targeted solutions to closing the climate finance gap.
We can also no longer afford to keep governments, cities, businesses and philanthropists operating in isolation from one another. They must work together and in parallel.
"When we get this right, we can produce outcomes on a required scale and timeframe that not one of these individual stakeholder groups could achieve on its own."
Governments at all levels will always have a leading role to play, but there is increasing evidence that the private sector holds the greatest untapped potential for accelerating the implementation of the world’s climate and nature goals.
Through initiatives such as next week’s Business & Philanthropy Forum, we can engage with this essential community and others in new and constructive ways, in turn creating a more inclusive green agenda.
Badr Jafar is the COP28 Special Representative for Business & Philanthropy and CEO of Crescent Enterprises
