“South Africa must be change agent for climate change investment & innovation”
Climate Investment Funds 2011 Partnership Forum and Associated Meetings
June 21 – 26, 2011 – Cape Town International Conference Center
Convention Square, 1 Lower Long Street, Cape Town 8001, South Africa
This week (21 – 26 June 2011) Cape Town plays host to the 2011 Climate Investment Funds Partnership Forum and Associated Meetings. The Climate Investment Funds (CIF) are a pair of funds to help developing countries pilot low-emissions and climate-resilient development. With CIF support, 45 developing countries are piloting transformations in clean technology, sustainable management of forests, increased energy access through renewable energy, and climate-resilient development. The CIF are channeled through the African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Inter-American Development Bank, and World Bank Group.
The Partnership Forum is a chance for CIF stakeholders to be heard. Tell share with the CIF partners and global colleagues how CIF is working in participating beneficiary countries, what you feel is most effective and how it can be expanded or improved, discuss on-the-ground achievements and challenges, share knowledge, and help other CIF stakeholders apply lessons learned.
All stakeholders—representatives of governments, civil society, indigenous peoples, local communities, private sector, and others— have been encouraged to attend and help chart the path for climate-smart development. If you’re unable to join and participate in the CIF Partnership Forum and Associated Meetings in Cape Town, please join online for this exciting event through live webstreaming and online moderation. Highlights include:
- Plenary sessions featuring stakeholder perspectives, experiences, and reflections on CIF strategic directions, results and impacts;
- Open panel discussions that explore ways to maximize CIF impact at the country and sectoral level;
- A learning symposium on the latest developments in climate science and technology;
- A poster session for CIF’s 45 pilot countries to showcase their evolving CIF programs and projects.
The timing of this important multistakeholder climate change forum on South Africa’s shores is highly relevant and significant as South African prepares to host the 17th session of the Conference of the Parties international climate negotiations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, also known as COP-17. It also coincides with the coming to fruition of a number of strategic policy responses and developments impacting on South Africa climate response and climate leadership role within Africa and developing nations of the worlds. This includes:
- The National Climate Change Response Green Paper (2010)
- The New Growth Path economic strategy and its focus on the ‘green economy’
- The Integrated Resource Plan (IRP2010) for energy
- The National Planning Commission’s ‘Vision 2030’
- The South African Code of Responsible Investment
- Minister for the National Planning Commission, Trevor Manuel’s appointment as joint chairperson of the Green Climate Fund, alongside Mexican Finance Minister Ernesto Cordero Arroyo and Kjetil Lund, state secretary of the Norwegian Ministry of Finance. The Green Fund was created soon after an agreement was signed at the 2010 COP-16 climate change conference in Cancun, Mexico. The fund comprises of a 40-member committee and is commissioned to raise and distribute R674-billion (U$100-billion) a year by 2020 in order to safeguard poor countries against the influences of climate change and be of assistance when it comes to low-carbon development. The committee will get together four times in 2011 to put together a written report on the fund. The report will be presented to around 190 countries due to attend the COP-17 conference in Durban from 27 November – 8 December 2011.
In the post global economic recession and financial crisis environment, all countries, governments, development organisations and multilateral institutions are being confronted (albeit to varying degrees) with the dual challenge of developing and implementing responsible financial strategies, whilst continuously leveraging finance for developmental purposes. This duality includes the challenge of financing and investing in climate change adaptation, mitigaton and innovation.
As host of COP-17, its growing geo-political stature as the mostly newly inducted member of the fast emerging economy bloc of BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) and having a major impact on Africa’s economic and resource governance and sustainability, South Africa has a major role to play as a change agent in climate innovation. As proudly African company rooted in South African, and with a focus on developing and implementing ethically focused sustainability services and solutions through our sustainability practice area, ETHICORE Consulting and Advisory Solutions will be actively participating in the 2011 CIF Partnership Forum and Associated Meetings with a view to:
- Acquiring new knowledge, information, trends and practices.
- Sharing our views and experience on climate change financing.
- Networking and developing relations with our peers in the sector.
- Promoting and positioning our sustainability climate offerings and services.
We will hope to utilise the platform offered by the hosting of the CIF on our shores to strategically position ourselves to help strengthen and enhance South Africa’s role as a change agent in climate innovation, through our collaboration and partnership with key roleplayers and primary stakeholders in government, business, civil society and the international community.
We would like to encourage you to utilise the space provided by the opportunity of commenting and responding to this blog and its social media feeds to share you thoughts, concerns, ideas, experiences and suggestions on climate innovation and investment with us. Feel free to bring to our attention issues which you believe we should raise during the CIF forum or which you would like to see us provide further information on. Similarly, if you believe we have be of service and assistance to you in the area of climate innovation and investment or as a collaboration partner …. drop us a line.
We hope to publish a further blog post and report on the 2011 CIF Partnership Forum. Below is a Schedule of Meetings and side events, as well as links to information on related CIF events are provided below:
Meetings of the CIF governing bodies
Consultations on the selection of members for the SCF Sub-Committees
Download the draft program here: Climate Investment Funds 2011 Partnership Forum and Associated Meetings