Speed dating, but for international climate investments. That’s one pitch that is set to become approved at Cop27 climate talks in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
Negotiators have provisionally agreed to hold regular “investment-focused events” included in a procedure to chop emissions, known as the mitigation work programme.
The aim, according to the latest draft text, is “unlocking financing barriers and identifying investment opportunities and actionable solutions” to help investors fund emissions-cutting projects.
In a written proposal, the UK government described the events as “world cafe[s]” with a “speed networking” element between governments and investors to “enhance investment and international partnerships”.
The events could be run by UN Climate Change with the support of “high-level champions” – a now-annual appointment by each Cop presidency to bridge the divide between formal talks and also the private sector.
The champions tested the concept in 2023, having a series of regional forums. It culminated in an event at Cop27 to showcase 50 projects looking for $90bn alongside a longer list which included 78 more. Together, they’re worth $120bn.
“We are able to now show that a meaningful pipeline of investible opportunities does exist over the economies that require finance most,” said Egypt’s climate champion Mahmoud Mohieldin.
A source with understanding of the situation told Climate Home the champions whittled the lists down from 450 projects, which meant disappointing a lot of developers.
The shorter list is tilted slightly to middle-income countries. Projects that didn’t make the cut include drainage channels in Nigeria, to help cope with flooding, and a clean cooking programme in Ghana.
Investors told Climate Home that a lack of connections was not the main obstacle to sourcing finance for emissions-cutting projects in developing countries.
Julie Levin spent 4 years being an investment analyst at the McConnell Foundation, before joining Environmental Defence Canada’s finance team.
She told Climate Home she was sceptical that any deals could be done as a result of these events which wouldn’t happen to be done anyway. “I don’t imagine it will be significantly impactful in addressing the possible lack of investment in the global south,” she said.
Levin said that investors had a “prejudice” against newer technologies and against lower income countries.
Money is flowing into gas and oil in Africa, she noted. Holding banks to their net zero pledges, because the UN is attempting to complete, would move this money into greener projects.
Sonam Velani accustomed to work on the planet Bank and Goldman Sachs before founding her very own social impact fund Streetlife. She asserted these investment events would only be a “very, really small step forward” as investors like her already are bombarded with pitches on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Most venture capitalists are very public, she said, and even in countries with low levels of internet access, entrepreneurs looking for funding are able to connect.
“The space isn't to find something, it’s making someone feel at ease with an investment,” she said.
Velani said multilateral development banks could take more risks but they must much red tape. Governments should “construct the red carpet not red tape” to investors, she said.
“Even although the pipeline of interesting projects can there be, they will require technical and financial help to get at a position where they are able to attract the proper of finance,” Nigel Topping, UK champion from last year’s Cop26 summit, acknowledged. “We want all actors within the system to roll-up their sleeves to create which happen.”
This proposal belongs to the mitigation work programme. Countries agreed at Cop26 to produce this to discuss how you can close the gap between collective national emissions cuts and also the global temperature limit goal of 1.5C. Negotiators are supposed to finalise the details at Cop27.
While holding investment events is uncontroversial, Evans said, discussions have been “lively” on how to structure the broader process.
An alliance of civilized world, vulnerable small islands and some left-wing Latin American countries wants the forum to carry on all the way to 2030 and report back to politicians and Cop meetings regularly.
Big emerging economies including India and china want discussions to only last a couple of years and not to feed directly into ministerial or Cop discussions.
Another divide has ended how specific to get in sectoral discussions.
The Cop27 presidency has put the climate ministers of Denmark and Nigeria – Dan Jorgensen and Barbara Creecy – responsible for hammering out a deal by the weekend.
