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CGEP at COP27

COP27, the UN’s annual climate conference, comes during increasingly uncertain times. It’s a year that’s been marked by record-breaking heatwaves and devestating climate-fueled disasters on top of a global energy crisis sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Representatives from around the world are gathering in Egypt from Nov 6-18 to report on what progress has or hasn’t been made based on commitments to reduce emissions. Egypt as host country is billing this year as “Africa’s COP” with a focus on increasing financing to low and middle income countries. To address this and other issues, Columbia’s Center on Global Energy Policy is once again hosting a series of events and sending our experts to Sharm el-Sheikh. See below for a full range of our activities. For other events from Columbia University and the Columbia Climate School please click here.

Our Events

Mobilizing Finance for Clean Energy in Emerging Markets (in person and livestream)

Tuesday, November 8, 2022 | 1:00-2:00 p.m. EET 
Climate Action Stage at the Climate Action Innovation Zone | Tonino Lamborghini Hotel, Sharm el Sheikh
This panel will explore concrete actions that can be taken to mobilize private capital for energy opportunities in Africa and other emerging markets while pushing forward with aggressive climate action.

Turning a Global Energy Crisis into A Climate Opportunity (in person and livestream)

Thursday, November 10, 2022
2:30-3:30 p.m. EET
Climate Action Stage at the Climate Innovation Zone | Tonino Lamborghini Hotel, Sharm el Sheikh
This discussion with key stakeholders working to accelerate a just energy transition will explore the risks and opportunities of the current global energy crisis. The panel will focus not only on how global events will shape this future opportunity, but also how the transition can rebalance an historically unjust relationship by enabling the Global South to become a key participant and anchor of a shared green energy future.

What We’ve Done

Climate Progress Can Be “Made in the USA” by sagatom saha

In a new piece for Foreign Affairs, CGEP’s Sagatom Saha calls for the US build on the Inflation Reducation Act and export affordable clean energy technologies to developing nations in order to curb global greenhouse gas emissions.

Read the PiECE

Opinion | Give More Women the Microphone At COP 27 by catherine mckenna and amy meyers jaffe

Less than 30 percent of lead negotiators in the UN climate process are women. In a new op-ed for Scientific American, CGEP’s Catherine McKenna and Amy Meyers Jaffee call on men to cede their time and give women their place at #COP27 and future climate negotiations.

Read the op-ed

High-Level Expert Group on the Net-Zero Emissions Commitments of Non-State Entities Launch Report at cop27

At COP27, the UN High-Level Expert Group on Net-Zero Emissions Commitments of Non-State Entities released a highly anticipated report on how to ensure credible, accountable net-zero pledges. The group, chaired by CGEP distinguished visiting fellow Catherine McKenna,  was established by UN Secretary-General António Guterres in March 2022. The report outlines 10 recommendations and 5 principles to guide the path forward for corporations and other non-state actors like cities and investors.

Read the report

Watch the report launch

OUr Experts at COp27

Ensuring a More Orderly Transition: The Dual Energy and Climate Challenge (Featuring Jason Bordoff)
Tuesday, November 8, 9:30-10:30 am | EET Hosted by McKinsey and Company
Every region of the world is facing two major energy challenges. The first is energy insecurity rooted in fossil-energy dependence and its vulnerability to geopolitical changes. The second is emissions-related climate change. The choices that companies and governments make today will have global ramifications on whether we can collectively achieve a more orderly energy transition. This session will explore key levers needed to unlock the energy transition and the significant social and economic benefits.

Can There Be Climate Progress Without Political Freedom? (Featuring Jason Bordoff)
Tuesday, November 8, 4:10–4:55 pm EET | Hosted by the New York Times, Climate Forward
International conflict is directing attention away from urgent climate action. But as tensions rise between NATO and Russia and the trade war between the U.S. and China intensifies, global energy and food security systems will undergo major shifts in the next decade – many of which could be seized as critical opportunities for transformation. That said, the internal politics of some vulnerable regions are already hindering climate and sustainability efforts. How is the climate fight being affected by authoritarian governments and the suppression of civil society? Can climate action thrive within corrupt systems? Is political freedom essential to progress, or can climate efforts be deployed without it?

The Energy Revolution – Session Two: Power Politics (Featuring Jason Bordoff)
Wednesday, November 9 | Hosted by Project Syndicate
Russia’s war in Ukraine and rising international tensions have added a fraught new dimension to the global energy transition. What strategies will countries need to devise to maintain progress toward clean power now that the era of globalization is being complicated by the return of old-school power politics?

High-Level Expert Group on the Net-Zero Emissions Commitments of Non-State Entities Public Launch of Recommendations (Featuring Catherine McKenna)
Tuesday, November 8th , 3:30-4:30 pm EET | Event hosted by the United Nations and chaired by the UN Secretary General

Driving Climate Action Globally (Featuring Antoine Halff)
Monday November 7th , 12:30-1:30 EET | Swedish Pavillon
Other featured speakers: President of Nasdaq Stockholm, Fredrik Ekström. CEO and Founder, Robert Falck. Darja Isaksson, Director General, Vinnova

How Can Financial Institutions, Corporates, Startups and Science Collaborate to Implement the Transition to Net Zero? (Featuring Antoine Halff)
Wednesday November 9, 5-6:00 PM EET | UNFCCC Pavillon
The implementation of net-zero commitments across corporates and financial institutions, together with science and start-ups has the power to create solutions to scale up climate action.  This event will bring together experts in various fields to shed a light on the challenges and collaborate on solutions.

US-China Climate Collaboration Press Conference (Featuring David Sandalow)
Monday November 14 9:30 am EET | Hosted by California China Climate Institute, Univ of California
Press Conference Room – Luxor, Taba Area

Release of 2022 ICEF Roadmap (Featuring David Sandalow and Julio Friedmann)
Tuesday, November 15, 3pm EET — Hosted at Japan Pavilion, Blue Zone

Carbon Neutrality (Featuring David Sandalow)
Wednesday, November 16, 11am EET — Hosted at China Pavilion, Blue Zone

Partner Events

Fireside Chat with Philippe Benoit
Monday, November 14th, 6:00-7:00 pm ET | Hosted Virtually by Columbia Climate School 
Join Philippe Benoit, Adjunct Senior Research Scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University, for a discussion on the energy transition in Africa, moderated by Bayo Oyewole, an international development finance specialist with over thirty-three years of experience working at the World Bank.

Columbia Climate Conversations – Prioritizing Climate Action on the African Continent (Feautring Dr. Harry Verhoeven and Alexandra Peek)
Wednesday, November 15th, 6:00-8:00 pm ET | Hosted Virtually by Columbia Climate School and Columbia Climate Conversations
The significance of COP 27 occurring in Egypt cannot be overstated: nations must work to highlight and address African issues of climate change from all angles at this year’s conference of the parties. Co-sponsored by the Columbia Climate School and Columbia Climate Conversations,  Yvette Christiansë will moderate a group of experts in a conversation on the different sub-issues of climate change in the continent including Dr. Kiros Berhane, Dr. Tatiyanna Cariyannis, Dr. Harry Verhoeven, and Alexandra Peek.

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Recapping a (Respectful) Dialogue About IEA Analysis

Bob McNally, a Non-Resident Fellow at the Center on Global Energy Policy and former Special Assistant to the President on the National Economic Council from 2001-2003, published an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal critical of how the IEA’s mission has changed to where it is today. In response, Jason Bordoff, the Founding Director of the Center on Global Energy Policy, shared reflections and critiques of points made in the piece on LinkedIn.

Announcement • March 22, 2024
Recapping a (Respectful) Dialogue About IEA Analysis
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