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Capacity-building talk on "Strengthening the capacities of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to engage in climate action and seize new opportunities"
19
Apr.
2022
14:00h
-
16:00h
Virtual event
MS Teams
Capacity-building
UNFCCC
English
0
Capacity-building talk on "Strengthening the capacities of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to engage in climate action and seize new opportunities"
Capacity-building efforts are fundamental to enabling developing countries to access the instruments, resources and knowledge needed to achieve the objectives of the United Nations Climate Change Convention and the Paris Agreement. The capacity-building framework for developing countries acknowledges and emphasizes the relevance of promoting active participation and improved cooperation of a wide range of stakeholders in climate capacity-building, including governments at all levels, international organizations, civil society and the private sector. The small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) sector is, in that sense, a key driver of the private sector, as it holds regional, national and global importance when it comes to the economic reset needed for deep decarbonization and climate action. Therefore, capacity-building activities must take SMEs into consideration in order to contribute to the implementation of the Paris Agreement.
Economies are significantly driven by the SMEs sector: besides providing inputs to large business supply chains, SMEs account for an average 97% of all enterprises, 69% of employment, and 41% of GDP in the ASEAN region, employ 80 percent of the workforce in sub-Saharan Africa, and between 10 - 40% in several Arab countries. SMEs are at the same time at the center of resiliency challenges as they need to adapt their activities to climate risks that can impact their enterprises e.g. through infrastructure damage from flooding, droughts and severe weather systems. They also need to consider the demands of companies committed to the 1.5 Co trajectory operating the supply chains in which they are embedded, and to the hardships imposed by a post-pandemic world. However, due to limitations in size, SMEs face larger challenges when it comes to the capacity to green their operations, including knowledge about technologies, the process to reduce carbon emissions, and accessing finance to climate-proof their business.
The interactive, virtual event will be the fourth of the Capacity Building Talks, a public event series by the UNFCCC secretariat aiming to facilitate the discussion and provision of information among actors and stakeholders involved in climate capacity-building. The talks offer a space to exchange knowledge and share best practices, including with a view to strengthening the focus of and work on capacity-building within the UNFCCC process.
Description/Objective
The 4th Capacity-building Talk aims to examine how capacity-building can support SMEs to better address climate change risks, contribute to meeting national emission reduction targets and access potential new business opportunities. The findings of research conducted by UNFCCC in collaboration with the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and the UNFCCC’s Regional Collaboration Centres (RCC) will be discussed in order to provide insights and solutions for enhancing the capacities of SMEs to engage effectively in climate action.
This session will present an overview of the most representative capacity-building needs and gaps of SMEs across different regions, and discuss recommendations aimed at how to better address these needs so SMEs can better engage in climate action. It also aims to consider how capacity-building activities can be more efficiently designed to address the needs of SMEs. Finally, the event is intended to provide impulses to discussions in the UNFCCC process related to private sector engagement in capacity-building.
In addition to providing space for general reflections and perspectives on the capacity needs and gaps of SMEs, the session will specifically consider the following aspects:
Capacity challenges to fostering SMEs’ access to finance to promote green initiatives and associated awareness;
Actions to enhance the capacities of SMEs to better integrate climate risks into their business models;
Designing context-specific collaborative capacity-building programs focused on improving the capacities of SMEs to contribute to the implementation of the Paris Agreement.
After the event, participants should have increased their knowledge and understanding of how capacity-building can help SMEs to address specific needs and gaps on climate action. They should have received practical information on how to promote more efficient partnerships with different stakeholders in order to enable SMEs to become more sustainable.
Following the event, a summary report will be prepared and published.
Programme
14:00 – 14:10
Welcome and Introduction
Alejandro Kilpatrick and Pedro Eymael, Capacity-building Subdivision, UNFCCC secretariat
14:10 – 14:20
Presentation of regional mapping studies to identify the Capacity Building needs and gaps of SMEs to better engage in climate action
Panelists to address from their own perspective the aspects of:
SMEs and their capacity needs as regards accessing finance in order to address climate issues
Knowledge and capacities needed by SMEs to understand and integrate climate risks into their business models
What needs to be done more of and with whom to develop and enhance the capacities of SMEs as regards coping with climate change and seizing new business opportunities
Erin is the director of IDRC’s Sustainable Inclusive Economies program. She joined IDRC in November 2020 and brings over 20 years of experience in international development and humanitarian sectors within Canadian and international non-governmental organizations, United Nations agencies and bilateral development programs. She worked with the World University Service of Canada (WUSC) in Malawi, CARE Canada in Bosnia Herzegovina, the Unites Nations Refugee Agency in Thailand, Algeria and Ghana, the United Nations World Food Programme in various countries in sub-Saharan Africa and with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Pretoria, South Africa. Erin holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and French Literature from the University of Western Ontario and a Master of Arts in Political Science from the University of Windsor.
Ahmed Elbermbali
Ahmed Samir Elbermbali is the Managing Director of the MENA Clean Energy Business Council (CEBC), a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting clean energy and clean technologies and solutions MENA Region. Ahmed joined CEBC in 2018 and is the youngest Managing Director to hold this position in the history of CEBC. He is very active in bringing together the industry stakeholders from across the private and public sectors in the different MENA countries together to discuss policy challenges and solutions and accelerate the policy maturity for clean energy in the region. Ahmed is an achieved consultant with a portfolio of 25+ companies from across Ireland and Canada whom he helped expand their business and operations to the MENA region. He holds an MBA in Sustainable Mobility Management from the Technical University of Berlin.
Marlen de la Chaux
Marlen de la Chaux is the technical expert for SMEs productivity and working conditions at the International Labour Organization, where she has worked for four years, and has extensive work and research experience with private sector issues and entrepreneurs. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from Jacobs University Bremen, a Master of Philosophy in Innovation, Strategy and Organization from the University of Cambridge, and a PhD in Management from the University of Cambridge.
Eddie Sembatya
Eddie Sembatya has over 15 years of professional experience in the field of impact investment, economic development and business development working with social and climate smart MSMEs, investors and development agencies. He is the Founder and Managing Director of Finding XY, a not-for-profit innovation Centre providing business advisory, market-based research, investment, and project consulting services. Eddie currently oversees facilities promoting green finance, impact investment in female-led enterprises and promotion of climate smart technologies in East Africa. He is an Oxford university alumni and a member of Private Financing Advisory Network (PFAN).
Sooksiri Chamsuk
Sooksiri Chamsuk is a Deputy Representative for UNIDO in Thailand and a regional programme officer. She has worked with UNIDO Regional Office in Thailand since 2008. Her responsibilities have ranged from engagements with United Nations Country Team to project’s design for resource mobilization. She collaborates with other UN agencies- such as UNESCAP and UNDCO- at the regional level on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and technical backstopping related work. She is specialized in formulation of projects aiming to achieve low-emission-sustainable development which includes clean energy, climate change mitigation, environmental and sound chemicals management for sustainable development, green economy, and circular economy for Southeast Asian countries. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Chiang Mai University, Thailand and a Master’s degree in Energy for Sustainable Development from the United Kingdom and Graduate Certificate on Energy for Sustainable Development from Lund University.
