Location: Canadian Pavilion – Blue Zone
Opening remarks: Catherine Stewart, Canada's Ambassador for Climate Change
Moderator: Jane Hutchinson, Co-Executive Director, Pollination Foundation
Panelists:
- Lori Kerr, CEO, FinDev Canada
- Christopher Marks, Executive Director, MUFG
- Andrew Vasila, Senior ESG & Global Fixed Income Analyst, Mackenzie Investments
- Richard Manley, Chief Sustainability Officer, CPP Investments
Description of the Roundtable:
The interconnectedness of the Paris Agreement, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Global Biodiversity Framework from Kunming to Montreal underscores the urgency of deploying integrated solutions. Sustainable infrastructure has a key role to play in bridging the gap between development challenges and net-zero and nature-positive climate impacts. To improve our practices, we need to better understand the climate and biodiversity risks and opportunities associated with infrastructure investments, as well as the value that natural capital can represent to potential investors. This roundtable, which brings together conservationists and climate finance experts from the public and private sectors, will provide an opportunity to discuss the need to invest more in biodiversity and climate-smart infrastructure in emerging markets and developing economies. This requires a better understanding of the incentives and risks that impact public and private investors in the areas of climate and biodiversity, careful consideration of the financial tools needed to accelerate investment (concessional finance, blended finance solutions, etc.), the importance of cross-sectoral collaboration and rethinking partnerships to advance climate action while halting biodiversity loss, and continue to promote enabling contexts for effective and complementary policy and regulatory frameworks.
Expected results:
- Demonstrate the role of sustainable infrastructure in achieving net-zero and nature-positive solutions.
- Discuss the incentives and barriers that affect private investors seeking to finance climate action and sustainable infrastructure in emerging markets and developing countries.
- Demonstrate the need to increase the accessibility and scale of concessional climate and nature finance.