At COP29, UNEP FI will mobilize its extensive network of over 500 banks, insurers, and investors to emphasize the essential role of finance in climate action. A comprehensive programme of discussions and events, including key sessions on climate finance, will showcase major initiatives and commitments from financial institutions. Our focus will be on accelerating the implementation of the Paris Agreement, aligning financial portfolios with net-zero targets, and promoting innovative financial instruments for climate resilience. By facilitating high-level participation and collaborative efforts, UNEP FI aims to enhance the finance sector’s contribution to global climate goals, supporting the transition to a sustainable, resilient, and inclusive economy.
COP29 will focus on shaping the future of climate finance. Key discussions will include innovative public finance mechanisms, advancing global carbon markets, and reviewing the Loss and Damage fund. As plans develop, UNEP FI will make updates via this webpage. We encourage our members to keep us informed of your attendance plans here.
Key Events at COP29
12 November | The Blended Finance Schemes That Can Make a Difference
Time: 18:30-20:00 AZT (GMT +4)
Location: COP29, Side-Event Room 8
In alignment with the objectives of the New Collective Quantitative Goal (NCQG) on climate finance, this session will explore how innovative blended finance mechanisms can help scale investments to meet the Sustainable Development Goals. The NCQG, aimed at mobilizing resources beyond the $100 billion annual goal, places increasing importance on leveraging both public and private investments to close the climate finance gap—an issue central to our discussion.
By integrating the principles of blended finance, we can unlock capital flows and channel funding towards high-impact, scalable solutions, particularly in emerging markets. The session will focus on innovative models, case studies, and strategic frameworks that are crucial to achieving the NCQG and supporting climate-resilient development.
13 November | PRI and UNEP FI networking event
Time: 8:00 -10:00 AZT (GMT+4)
Location: KPMG, 12th floor, Port Baku, 153 Neftchilar Ave, Baku, Azerbaijan
Join PRI and UNEP FI at a networking event at COP29. Hosted in collaboration with KPMG, PRI and UNEPFI will convene their members and other stakeholders for an engaging discussion on key COP29 themes. Key topics will include investable Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), how private sector finance can be accelerated through the NCQG, and other enabling policies. The event will also highlight examples of finance sector leadership and the latest developments from key initiatives such as the Net Zero Policy Taskforce.
Find out more and register here.
13 November | The role of the insurance sector in climate transition: From Baku to Belém
Time: 11:00 -12:15 AZT (GMT+4)
Location: Brazilian Industry Coalition Pavilion
Accreditation: Green Zone accreditation required. UNEP FI cannot provide accreditation.
Looking ahead to COP30 in Belém, Brazil, Butch Bacani, UNEP Head of Insurance will join a multi-stakeholder panel exploring the fundamental role the insurance sector plays in the prevention and reduction of the effects of climate change, contributing concretely to minimising the economic and social impacts caused by natural disasters.
13 November | Event Title: Net-Zero Export Credit Agencies Alliance: from commitment to action
Time: 13:00-13:45 AZT (GMT +4)
Location: Denmark pavilion, Blue Zone
Accreditation: Blue Zone accreditation required. UNEP FI cannot provide accreditation.
In support of the goals of the Paris Agreement, Export Credit Agencies (ECAs) and Export Import (ExIm) banks are setting net zero targets and transition their portfolios to net zero by 2050 or earlier. In support of these ambitions, ECAs and ExIm banks have established the Net Zero Export Credit Agencies Alliance (NZECA). This event focuses on the progress the Alliance and its members have achieved since its launch at COP28 in Dubai as well as outlining future steps towards aligning member portfolios with science-based pathways towards a net-zero economy. One of the main outcomes of the first year of NZECA work is development of the Target-Setting Protocol, a document setting a common framework for ECAs and ExIm banks pursuing the pathway to net-zero. This document will be launched at the event and will serve as a guideline for members and as a good practice benchmark for the broader export credit community. The session will further contribute to building the climate-finance-trade nexus that is announced as one of the COP29 Presidency priorities.
13 – 14 November | Sustainable Innovation Forum 2024
Time: 09:00 – 18:00 (GMT+4)
Location: Baku Marriott Hotel Boulevard, Azerbaijan
Accreditation: Blue or Green Zone accreditation not required.
Over a year since UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres announced the era of global boiling had arrived and with the possibility of limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels fast slipping through our grasps, the need for collaboration across geographies, policies and industries has never been more urgent.
The Sustainable Innovation Forum 2024 will meet in Baku this year and bring together leaders from across government, science, business, finance and civil society to address our the greatest collective challenge. Join our mission-led summit at COP29 and hear first hand the strategies, vision and leading examples from climate leaders.
Find out more and register here.
14 November | Launch of the first global guide on transition plans for insurers by the UN Forum for Insurance Transition to Net Zero (FIT) and presentation of Fidelidade Impact Center for Climate Change
Time: 10:00 -10:45 AZT (GMT+4)
Location: Pavilion of Portugal
Accreditation: Blue Zone accreditation required. UNEP FI cannot provide accreditation.
This event will explore climate action as a cornerstone for the future of the insurance industry. During the session, Butch Bacani, UNEP Head of Insurance and Chair of the UN Forum for Insurance Transition to Net Zero (FIT) will launch the FIT’s inaugural report—the first global guide on transition plans for insurers. The event will also present the aims of the Fidelidade Impact Center for Climate Change, an innovation hub for climate solutions in the insurance sector, as well as an interactive panel discussion on climate adaptation and mitigation strategies, scenarios and solutions and the role of the insurance industry and key stakeholders.
Livestreaming is available here through the YouTube channel of Portugal’s General Secretariat for the Environment.
14 November | Mobilizing financial sector support for a just transition
Time: 10:00 -11:00 AZT (GMT+4)
Location: Just Transition Pavilion in the Blue Zone
The finance sector plays a critical role in mobilizing the financial resources required for a just transition that social and economic benefits of climate action while minimizing and carefully managing any challenges. Achieving this requires collaboration, financial mechanisms to leverage synergies, and effective regulatory frameworks that align financial flows with just transition objectives. Panelists will share firsthand experience on attracting and directing capital to just transition priorities and explore strategies within the finance sector, offering actionable insights for other actors and stakeholders, including opportunities for alignment with national, sectoral, and international transition plans.
14 November | Financing the transition of the real estate sector towards net-zero
Time: 12:30 -14:00 AZT (GMT+4)
Location: COP29 Buildings and Cooling Pavilion, Blue Zone, pavilion ICC – International Code Council, Number G10
Accreditation: Blue Zone accreditation required. UNEP FI cannot provide accreditation.
This event will explore essential strategies for financing the real estate sector’s transition to net zero. It will address key barriers to financing the transition to net-zero emission buildings, both old and new, and offer recommendations for overcoming these obstacles from speakers and panellists representing leading financial and other institutions including: UNEP, BBVA, Deutsche Bank, EIB, First Abu Dhabi Bank, the Net-Zero Banking Alliance, and 2150.
14 November | Financing the low-carbon energy transition in Asia and the Pacific
Time: 15:00 -16:30 AZT (GMT+4)
Location: COP29 Baku, Azerbaijan
“Finance underpins everything” yet in this same statement, H.E. Mukhtar Babayev, Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan Republic, the COP29 President, warns “there is a growing gap between the needs of the developing countries and what is available”.
This problem is compounded even further when we look at MICs with rapidly growing energy needs. How can MICs transition away from fossil fuels in an equitable manner while tripling renewable energy capacity as ascribed in the UAE consensus, or for some countries, also deploying nuclear capacity. These countries are deeply exposed to and dependent on fossil fuels and the shift to a different system, not only of energy but throughout the entire productive economy, involves extreme trade-offs and immediate costs as well as future benefits. How to reconcile these is what will be discussed, with speakers from MIC governments, private financiers and public development banks, industry users and testimonies from the ground. This townhall hybrid session seeks to break the “deadlock” that plagues developed and developing states.
14 November | Navigating the path to net-zero for the export credit industry
Time: 15:45 – 16:00 AZT (GMT+4)
Location: The Nordic Pavilion at COP29
The event will discuss the role of leadership and collective actions by export credit agencies (ECAs) and export-import (ExIm) banks in advancing the sector towards meeting the Paris Agreement objectives and supporting the real economy transformation towards net-zero. Speakers will share the experience of the Net-Zero Export credit Agencies Alliance (NZECA) on developing the Target-Setting Protocol that is designed and a science-based framework for ECAs and ExIm banks pursuing the path to net-zero. The Protocol launched on November 13 at COP29, is the first practical guidance for for ECAs and ExIm banks on aligning their portfolios with the paths to net-zero considering specific featured and the global diversity of the export credit sector.
14 November | Regional Pathways: Financing the Global Energy Transition
Time: 18:00 – 19:00 AZT (GMT+4)
Location: COP29 Green Zone, Baku Stadium, Baku, Azerbaijan
Accreditation: Green Zone accreditation required. UNEP FI cannot provide accreditation.
Representatives of Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) member banks come together for a panel discussion on the enduring challenges and growing opportunities of financing the global energy transition. They will share their insights on key regions and markets, and reveal how government, business, and finance can work together to accelerate progress. The event will feature representatives of NZBA member banks from Africa and Middle East, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America and Caribbean, and North America, including from BBVA, First Abu Dhabi Bank, MUFG.
15 November | Accelerating Global Investor Climate Action to Achieve the Paris Agreement’s Goals
18:30 – 20:00 AZT (GMT+4)
Location: COP29 Blue Zone, Room: Side Event 8
Accreditation: Blue Zone accreditation required. UNEP FI cannot provide accreditation.
To facilitate a just global transition to net zero, investors are setting net zero targets, laying out climate action plans (ICAPs), and engaging with companies and governments. This event will feature discussions from investors, government representatives and founding partners of the Investor Agenda on the policies needed to scale up the finance needed to deliver ambitious nationally determined contributions (NDCs) and implement the Global Stocktake (GST) outcomes.
For further information, please contact info@theinvestoragenda.com
18 November | Climate Adaptation Innovation & Learning (CAIL) public invitational event
Time: 13:15 – 14:45 AZT (GMT+4)
Location: GEF Pavilion
Accreditation: Blue Zone accreditation required. UNEP FI cannot provide accreditation.
More details to follow
About COP29
The Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is the primary governing body responsible for advancing global climate action through strategic decisions at its periodic meetings. COP29 will be held from November 11 to November 22, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan. This conference will focus on accelerating the implementation of the Paris Agreement, enhancing Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), and mobilizing finance for climate mitigation and adaptation. Participants will include government representatives, policymakers, and stakeholders who will discuss measures to mitigate climate change, mobilize financial resources, enhance capacity-building, and ensure the sustainable use of resources. Key themes will include decarbonization, climate adaptation, and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits from climate action.