2022 UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP27)

As catalysts for social impact and environmental progress in the U.S. and more than 50 countries, Abt proudly supported the 2022 UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP27) agenda—by co-sponsoring the Pathways to 1.5°C Pavilion, helping to organize the first ever Climate Justice Pavilion, advancing critical conversations at the Resilience Hub, and more. Deemed the "Implementation COP,” we focused on raising the profile of actionable solutions that can address the climate crisis at the needed urgency and scale. We left with mixed feelings about the proceedings. First, the good news:

• All countries finally agreed to set up a “loss and damage” fund to help the most vulnerable countries address the rising costs of climate impacts—a significant step toward climate justice.
• More than 150 countries have now endorsed the Global Methane Pledge to slash emissions—the fastest, most effective way to slow global warming (read our analysis of methane abatement solutions and their societal benefits and hear about scaling methane abatement and methane mitigation co-benefits in developing countries).
• Climate finance was center stage, including increased consensus around the need to restructure global finance flows and reform multilateral development banks; at COP27, we discussed opportunities for unlocking finance amid soaring interest rates.
• We also saw rising acknowledgement of the opportunities climate action presents to address vulnerabilities across sectors, such as at the nexus of health and food systems. These opportunities can only be realized through meaningful climate integration and mainstreaming across existing silos.  We’re especially proud to be leading USAID Power Africa’s new Health Electrification and Telecommunications Alliance, expanded at COP27, to deliver health, climate, and economic benefits by electrifying 10,000 rural health clinics with clean and reliable energy.

Yet overall, COP27 fell short of its promise, with no plan for phasing out fossil fuels and an uncertain path to keeping the world’s average temperature rise below 1.5°C. Without adequate climate mitigation and adaptation, the magnitude of loss and damage will be unaffordable for any budget. As stewards of government funds and co-creators and implementers of climate solutions, we can’t slow down. We are looking forward to COP28 and the year ahead to keep this goal on track.

Meet Our COP27 Delegation

Abt Global’s Climate and Energy Practice is a cutting-edge, in-house technical team of economists, scientists, engineers, and policy analysts with more than 30 years of experience supporting natural resource management, finance mobilization, and climate action across the U.S. and worldwide. Meet Abt’s delegation at COP27 | Watch: Live perspectives from COP27

Sessions & Side Events

PRESS CONFERENCE: USAID ADDS MORE THAN A DOZEN NEW PARTNERS TO ELECTRIFY 10,000 HEALTH FACILITIES ACROSS SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
November 12, 2022 at 10:30:00 AM GMT-5

At this Nov. 12 event, members of USAID Power Africa’s new Healthcare Electrification and Telecommunications Alliance (HETA) signed 15 new partners. This Global Development Alliance—one of the largest in USAID history—will leverage more than $150 million of private sector resources to install reliable, renewable power and provide mobile network and internet access for at least 10,000 health facilities across sub-Saharan Africa. Abt is the lead integrator for HETA with partners RESOLVE, bechtel.org (Bechtel’s social enterprise), Orange, and two dozen other companies, organizations, and foundations in the healthcare, energy, and telecommunications sectors.

Speakers:

Mark Carrato, Coordinator, USAID Power Africa
Eric Reading, Chief Climate Officer, Abt Global
Amb. Stu Jones, President, Regionals and Corporate Affairs, Bechtel
Thomas Gottschalk, Managing Director, A2EI
Taki Netshitenzhe, External Affairs Director, Vodacom South Africa

Pathways to 1.5°C Pavilion

CLIMATE FINANCE INNOVATION IN A HIGH INTEREST RATE WORLD: OPPORTUNITIES TO UNLOCK CLIMATE FINANCE IN EMERGING MARKETS
Wed, Nov 9, 13:30-14:30 (Egypt, GMT+2) (physical and livestream)
During a decade of extraordinarily low global interest rates, global climate finance nearly doubled in size. Since interest rates began climbing, private investment has fallen, government discretionary budgets have tightened, and public and private distressed debt has risen. In this event, we discussed how climate financiers can actively become agents of transformation under higher interest rates and lead the charge to identify, innovate, and adapt to this new economic environment.

Presenters: 
Manuel Bueno, Director Climate Finance, Abt Global
Vikram Widge, Senior Advisor, Climate Policy Institute 
Jiwoo Choi, Chief of Strategic Initiatives, Acumen
Amal-Lee Amin, Managing Director, Head of Climate, Diversity & Advisory, British International Investment
Moderator: Jane Wilkinson, Senior Advisor Climate Change, Abt Global

VIDEO

ROLE OF THE PRIVATE SECTOR, BILATERAL AND MULTILATERAL ORGANIZATIONS IN ACCELERATING AND SCALING METHANE ABATEMENT EFFORTS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
Fri, Nov 11, 2022, 14:30 -15:30 (Egypt, GMT+2) (physical and livestream)
The panel discussion brought together representatives from bilateral, multilateral, and philanthropic organizations to reflect on actions they have taken one year after the launch of the Global Methane Pledge and discussed their plans to accelerate and scale methane abatement efforts in developing countries. This discussion provided an opportunity for the audience, particularly those from lower- and middle-income countries, to learn about methane abatement actions taken by the donor community, and to identify potential areas for collaboration with external partners.

Presenters: 
Gillian Caldwell, Chief Climate Office USAID
Pathy Rhee, Chief Partnership Officer, Global Methane Hub
Martina Otto, Head of Climate and Clean Air Coalition Secretariat, CCAC, UNEP
Gareth Phillips, Climate and Environment Finance Division Manager, African Development Bank
Jo Puri, Associate Vice President, IFAD
Moderator: Rick Duke, US Deputy Special Envoy on Climate, US State Department

VIDEO

HOW IS USAID MITIGATING METHANE EMISSIONS AS A CO-BENEFIT OF SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT, SANITATION, AND DAIRY PRODUCTIVITY PROGRAMS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES?
Sat, Nov 12, 14:00 - 15:00 (Egypt, GMT+2) (physical and livestream)
The United States launched the Global Methane Pledge during COP26. In support of the United States Government’s effort to continue highlighting the importance of methane mitigation in keeping the 1.5-degree warmer future during COP27, USAID showcased the methane mitigation support it has provided to partner countries during the past year. The panel discussion brought together implementing partners of USAID programs in Kenya and the Dominican Republic who discussed how their respective programs contribute to reducing methane emissions. The audience learned about USAID’s commitment to methane mitigation, and methane mitigation co-benefits including improving public health and agricultural productivity.

Presenters: 
Malick Haidara, Senior Climate and Energy Advisor, USAID
Tracy Mitchell, Director of Resilience and Climate Adaptation, RTI International
Andrew Foote, CEO, Co-Founder, Sanivation
Jon Angin, CCBO Chief of Party, Tetra Tech
Moderator: Lindsay Foley, Director of Climate and Clean Energy, Abt Global

VIDEO

NET ZERO REPORTING AND PATHWAYS COP 27 PANEL
Tues, Nov 15th from 15:30 – 16:30 (Egypt, GMT+2) (physical and livestream)
Leaders from non-state entities committed to achieving net-zero emissions will share perspectives on strategies that are being implemented to achieve measurable progress toward this target. Topics covered will include goals and timelines of net-zero commitments, how these are communicated to the public, the balance between direct reductions and offsets, alignment with international reporting frameworks, and challenges facing net-zero goal setting.

Presenters: 
Caroline Choi, Senior Vice President Corporate Affairs at Edison International
Adam Gromis, Sustainable Mobility Policy Manager, Uber
Mary Nichols, UN High-Level Expert Group on the Net-Zero Emissions Commitments of Non-State Entities
Olga Faktorovich Allen, Senior Director Climate Integration, Abt Global 
Moderator: Diane Wittenberg, Board Chair, The Climate Registry

VIDEO

Resilience Hub Pavilion

BUILDING RESILIENCE THROUGH THE NEXUS OF FOOD SYSTEMS, HEALTH, AND CLIMATE FROM RURAL TO URBAN
Thurs, Nov 10, 2022, 10:30– 11:30 (Egypt, GMT+2) (physical and livestream)
Highlighting the health implications of climate-driven food insecurity, the session focused on existing programs that strengthen the climate resilience and economic viability of the food supply chain and improve the livelihoods of small-scale farmers. It looked at the key role that early warning systems play in making the supply chain from rural to urban settings more climate resilient, and the widespread health and environment benefits of including food-systems in Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

Presenters: 
Pauline Scheelbeek, Professor, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM)
Walid Sallam, Project Director, Abt Global
Susannah Mayhew, Professor, LSHTM
Patricia Nying’uro, GCRF-African SWIFT and IPCC Focal Point Kenya
Marco Springmann, LSHTM
Vivian Maduekeh, Global Alliance for the Future of Food

Moderator: 
Amanda Quintana, Abt Global and LSHTM
Adrienne Arsht, Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center

VIDEO

Devex @ COP27

INTEGRATING CLIMATE SOLUTIONS ACROSS SILOS
Thurs, Nov 10, 15:00– 15:30 (Egypt, GMT+2)  (Livestream broadcast on November 11.)
More and more organizations, companies and even local governments are launching climate change officer staff positions. The role requires both an adept understanding of global, multi-sectoral issues and the ability to help an organization or institution address those issues across portfolios and budgets. In this session, senior reporter William Worley talked to two incoming organizational climate leads about their experiences and aspirations for mainstreaming climate change and sustainable energy across their respective organizations.

Speakers: 
Eric Reading, Chief Climate Officer, Abt Global
Jennifer Sara, Global Director for the World Bank Group’s Climate Change Global Practice
Moderator: Will Worley, UK Correspondent, Devex

VIDEO

Vision2045 Summit in Support of UN SDGs

CONFRONTING INEQUALITY HEAD ON
Tues, Nov 8, 15:05 - 15:45 (Egypt, GMT+2) (physical and livestream)
At the UN Vision2045 Summit of forward-looking businesses, this discussion asked how we can build social cohesion and reduce inequalities through global alliances and social entrepreneurship—and why inequality matters particularly to climate action. Panelists delved into how COVID-19 has exacerbated inequality and how businesses, governments and financial services can make up lost ground.

Speaker: Roslyn M. Brock, Chief Global Equity Officer, Abt Global
Moderator: Rosanna Lockwood, correspondent CNBC International