His Excellency Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, President of COP 28, CMP 18 and CMA 5, has affirmed the appointment of Fiona Gilbert and Zaheer Fakir as co-chairs for 2024 of the ad hoc work programme on the new collective quantified goal on climate finance. Open letter of the COP 28, CMP 18 and CMA 5 President can be viewed here.
Credit: Credit: Photo by Fiona Gilbert
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Fiona Gilbert is Director of Climate Finance and Adaptation at Australia’s Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, with oversight of climate finance, adaptation and loss and damage negotiations in the UNFCCC. Ms Gilbert was Australia’s lead climate finance negotiator and representative on the UNFCCC Standing Committee on Finance between 2018 and 2023.
Ms. Gilbert has a development assistance background, and has worked on climate finance since 2011 including on fast-start finance, the Green Climate Fund, the Global Green Growth Institute and climate finance programming through Australia's official development assistance program. Ms. Gilbert has also managed the Australian Government's relationship with the OECD Development Assistance Committee.
Prior to joining the Australian Government in 2011, Ms. Gilbert worked in the private sector including as sustainability coordinator for Australia's national cement industry. Ms. Gilbert holds a Masters of Environmental Management and Development, and Bachelor degrees in Arts (with Honours), Economics, and Asian Studies from the Australian National University.
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Credit: Credit: Photo by Zaheer Fakir
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Zaheer has more than 30 years of experience in the world of international politics, negotiations, finance and development issues and is at the forefront of negotiations on a number of major multilateral outcomes most notably the Governing Instrument of the GCF and its operationalization, the Paris Agreement, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Agenda 2030 and the Katowice, Madrid and Glasgow Climate Change Conferences. He is a founding member and former Co-Chair and Board member of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) as well as also assuming the role of G77 & China coordinator for finance in the UNFCCCC process.
His experience also includes bilateral relations and liaising with foreign governments, multilateral environmental agreements, resource mobilization, the African Ministerial Conference of Environment, African Union, G20, World Bank, UN and other international organizations and is the Focal point for the Global Environment Facility, Green Climate Fund and a trust fund committee member in the Climate Investment Funds.
Zaheer is currently the senior advisor (negotiations) for the United Arab Emirates - COP 28 Presidency. He also worked previously at the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries as well as at the Department of Trade and Industry in the field of international trade and investment for approximately 9 years, 4 years of which he was the South African Economic representative in Germany and Scandinavia to promote South African exports and procuring investment for South Africa. |
