At its 18th Meeting, the SCF agreed to issue a call for inputs on the theme of its 2019 Forum. In response to this call, the SCF received the following inputs:
Dates: 12 – 13 September 2019 Venue: United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia City: Beirut Country: Lebanon
The event is being organized in partnership with:
With contributions from:
Background
The Forum of the Standing Committee on Finance (SCF) provides a platform for a wide range of stakeholders from governments, climate funds, financial institutions, civil society, think tanks and the private sector to discuss a topic of interest in climate finance and promote linkages and coherence in the mobilization and delivery of climate finance.
The theme of 2019 SCF Forum, will be "Climate Finance and Sustainable Cities", with the following sub-themes:
Financing cities' low emission development;
Financing climate-resilient cities;
Capacity-building of local authorities to finance sustainable cities;
The role of climate finance in facilitating a transition towards inclusive, participatory and gender-responsive and youth-oriented cities.
The objective of the Forum is to enhance the understanding on how to accelerate the mobilization and delivery of climate finance for sustainable cities by:
(1) Bringing together key stakeholders and sharing good practices and lessons learned in financing sustainable cities and integrating climate considerations into cities’ broader domestic infrastructure development, and urban planning processes;
(2) Identifying challenges faced by actors at the city level to access and attract climate finance and sharing information on available support and;
(3) Exploring the role of climate finance to facilitate inclusive, participatory, gender-responsive and youth-oriented cities.
Opening remarks, welcoming the participants and introduction of the Forum
Overview of the 2-day Forum and messages to the participants on what this Forum should deliver
SCF Co-chairs
Mr. Ayman Shasly (Saudi Arabia)
Mr. Ismo Ulvila (European Union)
Minister of Environment, Lebanon
H.E. Mr. Fady Jreissati
Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations
H.E. Amina Mohammed (video message)
Executive Secretary of UNESCWA, Ms. Rola Dashti
09:30 – 10:30
Session 1: Scene-setting on climate finance and sustainable cities
Issues that cities are facing today, including ways that climate change socially and economically impacts cities, and the interlinkages between these issues
Complementarity between climate actions and cities’ broader social, economic, and environmental goals and priorities, including those reflected in the Paris Agreement, SDGs and other UN targets relevant to cities, such as the New Urban Agenda and the Sendai Framework;
Climate finance in the broader context of cities’ infrastructure and sustainable development financing needs;
Finance gap that needs to be closed for cities’ sustainable development and opportunities that can be harnessed through climate finance
Importance of the vertical integration that will help to align the NDCs with cities’ climate actions plans
Session moderator: Ambassador Mohamed Nasr, SCF Forum co-facilitator
Panel discussion:
Dr. Laila Iskander, former Minister of Environment, Egypt
Dr. Stephen Bygrave,(bio) Director of Climate Resilience and Net Zero Emissions in the New South Wales (State of Sydney), Australia
Session 2: Brainstorming session on sustainable cities and climate finance
Participants will be invited to have a brainstorming session around the issues cities are facing today and how climate change considerations are linked to achieving cities’ broader social, economic, and environmental goals and priorities, including those reflected in the Paris Agreement, SDGs and other UN targets relevant to cities, and the role climate and sustainable finance can play to resolve the issues. Participants will be advised to examine these social, economic, and environmental goals and priorities, as well as cross-cutting consideration of mitigation and adaptation from key urban sectors.
Brainstorming group focusing on buildings and energy sector
Mini-case study presenters
Mr. Naguib Amin, CLIMA MED, "EU for Climate Action in the Southern Neighborhood"
Dr. Stephen Bygrave, Director of Climate Resilience and Net Zero Emissions in the New South Wales (State of Sydney), Australia
Moderator
Dr. Noura Mansouri, Senior research associate, King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Centre, Saudi Arabia (Report back)
Brainstorming group focusing on water and waste sectors
Mini-case study presenters
Ms. Alessandra Peres,
Deputy Secretary for Strategic Issues
Federal District Environment Secretariat
Brasilia, Brazil
Ms. Roula Majdalani, Director of the ESCWA Sustainable Development Policies Division
Moderator
Mr. Grammenos Mastrojeni, Deputy Secretary-General, Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) Secretariat (Report back)
Brainstorming group focusing on transport sector
Mini-case study presenters
Ms. Yulia Zvorykina, Ministry of Transport, Russia
Mr. Desmond Appiah, Chief Sustainability and Resilience Advisor to the Mayor of Accra
Moderator
Mr. Daouda Ben Oumar Ndiaye, Lead Climate Adaptation Specialist, Islamic Development Bank Group (IsDB)
(Report back)
12:30 – 13:00
Report-back of the discussion leaders from the breakout groups followed by a moderated discussion
Session moderator: Ambassador. Mohamed Nasr, SCF Forum co-facilitator
13:00 – 14:00
Lunch
14:00 – 15:30
Session 3: Planning and financing climate change actions for sustainable cities
This session will explore ways to mainstream climate change into urban planning and projects, and available options for supporting them through climate finance, including through readiness programs. The session will also examine the enablers required for cities to mobilize climate finance and harness its full potential to meet the financing needs of cities, and available international support opportunities cities can avail of.
Session moderator: Ms. Fiona Gilbert,(bio) SCF Forum co-facilitator
Ms. Junko Ota,(bio) Kitakyushu Urban Centre, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, Japan
Mr. Dimitry Halubouski, European Bankfor Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)
Plenary discussion
15:30 – 15:45
Coffee break
15:45 – 17:15
Session 4: Breakout session on planning and financing urban climate projects
Breakout group on sources of climate finance for cities
The group will discuss the ways to identify finance for low emission and climate resilient urban projects, from public and private sources, at the national and international levels.
Mini-case study presenter Mr. Yann Françoise, Head of Climate, Energy and Circular Economy Strategies, Urban Ecology Agency, Paris and Environment Directorate, City of Paris
Moderator
Mr. Christopher Moon-Miklaucic, Urban Finance Research Analyst,World Resources Institute (WRI) (Report back)
Breakout group on innovative financing mechanism and instruments
The group will discuss financing mechanism and instruments that cities can utilize to mobilize the funding needed for their urban projects, and the technical support needed.
Mini-case study presenter
Mr. Sinovuyo Mpakama, City of Johannesburg (video presentation)
Breakout group on the financial needs and investment priorities for cities
The group will share experiences on how cities assessed their financial needs and investment priorities in different sectors. It will also discuss the role of financial institutions in response to the needs identified.
Mini-case study presenter
Mr. Mauricio Rodas Espinel, former Mayor of Quito, Ecuador (video presentation)
Mr. Arnaud Heckmann,(bio) Principal Urban Development Specialist, ADB Mongolia
Moderator
Ms. Sophie de Connick, UN Capital Development Fund
(Report back)
17:15 – 17:45
Report-back of the discussion leaders from the breakout groups followed by a moderated discussion
Session moderator: Ms. Fiona Gilbert, SCF Forum co-facilitator
17:45 – 18:00
Wrap-up of day 1
Day 2 : 13 September 2019
Time
Description
Speaker and Moderators
09:00 – 10:15
Session 5: Accelerating the mobilization and delivery of climate finance for cities
This session will focus on how cities can mobilize and access finance for their low-emission, climate resilient urban projects and opportunities to address the capacity constraints that city actors are facing. It will also explore ways to create the enabling environments and regulatory frameworks to unlock urban climate actions by the private sector.
Mr. Arnaud Heckmann, Principal Urban Development Specialist, ADB Mongolia
Dr. Ahmed Al Qabany, Manager of Climate Change Division, Islamic Development Bank (IsDB)
Plenary discussion
10:15 – 10:30
Coffee Break
10:30 – 12:00
Session 6: Breakout session on capacity-building and readiness support
Breakout group on access and accreditation
The group will discuss opportunities and challenges of cities in gaining access to international climate funds, including through direct access. It will also focus on ways to access readiness support for the institutions seeking accreditation to the funds.
Mini-case study presenter
Ms. Randa Mounir, former GCF focal point at Ministry of Environment, Egypt
Moderator
Mr. Drazen Kucan, Lead Urban and Energy Efficiency Specialist, Green Climate Fund (Report back)
Breakout group on project preparation and capacity-building support
The group will discuss the challenges that city actors face during the preparation phase of climate project and identify available technical and capacity-building support. It will also share information on available tools that can help the city actors prepare better project proposals by strengthening the climate rationale.
Mini-case study presenter:
Mr. Desmond Appiah, Chief Sustainability and Resilience Advisor to the Mayor of Accra
Moderator
Mr. Charles Wilson, Director of Development and Partnerships, Gold Standard Foundation (Report back)
Breakout group on incentivizing private sector engagement
This group will discuss ways to reduce the capital costs and financial risks for local businesses and start-ups to help mobilize private sector investments at the city level. It will also focus on the measures that city authorities can take to raise the awareness of private sector investment opportunities and ratchet up the capacity of local financial institutions.
Mini-case study presenter
Ms. Benita Ainabe, Financial Sector Specialist, Asian Development Bank (video presentation)
Moderator
Carlos de Freitas, Co-Director
FMDV - Global Fund for Cities Development
(Report back)
12:00 – 12:30
Report-back of the discussion leaders from the breakout groups followed by a moderated discussion
Session 7: Breakout session on climate finance and inclusive and participatory cities
Breakout group on the role of climate finance in empowering groups in vulnerable situations
This group will discuss ways of integrating the consideration of groups in vulnerable situations in developing low-emission, climate resilient urban plans and projects. It will also discuss participatory approaches in assessing climate and sustainable financing needs of cities.
Breakout group on enabling environments for inclusive growth
This group will discuss policies and regulations that can drive national and international climate finance towards fostering a more inclusive, gender-responsive and youth-oriented society and stimulating economic growth. It will also focus on how the policies and programming of the MDBs and international climate funds can contribute to such inclusive growth.
Breakout group on micro-, small- and medium-sized businesses
The group will discuss the potential of micro-, small- and medium-sized business and microfinance schemes in funding climate actions that can benefit groups that are in vulnerable situations. It will also discuss available national and international support for such business models.
Mini-case study presenter
Ms. Sheela Patel, Shack/Slum Dwellers International (SDI) (video presentation)
Moderator
Ms. Shipra Narang Suri, Urban Planning and Design Branch, UN HABITAT (Report back)
Mini-case study presenter
Youth for Climate Strasbourg, video presentation
Ms. Hajar Khamlichi, President of the Mediterranean Youth Climate Network
Moderator
Ms. Carol Chouchani Cherfane, Chief, Water Resources Section, Sustainable Development Policies Division, UNESCWA (Report back)
Mini-case study presenter
Ms. Charlotte Scott, SouthSouthNorth
Mr. Yann Françoise, Head of Climate, Energy and Circular Economy Strategies, Urban Ecology Agency, Paris and Environment Directorate, City of Paris
Moderator
Ms. Hannah Rotchild, ICLEI CiBiX
(Report back)
15:30 – 16:00
Report-back of the discussion leaders from the breakout groups followed by a moderated discussion
Session moderator: SCF member Mr. Ivan Zambrana Flores
16:00 – 16:15
Coffee Break
16:15 – 17:15
Session 8: Role of climate finance in building more inclusive sustainable cities
This session will highlight the how climate finance can facilitate building a sustainable city that is more inclusive, participatory, gender-responsive and youth-oriented. It will also focus on how climate and sustainable investments can contribute to alleviating poverty of groups in vulnerable situation.
Session moderator: SCF member Mr. Ivan Zambrana Flores
Presentation:
Ms. Banashri Sinha, (bio) UN Women Regional Office for Asia
and the Pacific (video presentation)
Panel discussion:
Mr. Edris Loubega, (bio) Shack/Slum Dwellers International
