EDF at COP28: Schedule of events

S&P Global Commody Insights COP28 Forum | Energy Transition: How to Power Your Progress

12:00 - 18:00 GST, Hilton Palm Jumeirah

As energy markets continue to evolve, a lot hangs in the balance. The world needs a new energy system that’s secure, sustainable and affordable. Join us for an afternoon of insights and discussion into how you can be part of the energy solution. For 2023, the event will focus on the theme of energy transition: strategic choices and demonstrating progress.

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Ecological Civilization and Beautiful China Practice

9:00 - 10:30 GST, China Pavilion

This session will introduce China’s policies and actions to address climate change and tell China’s story in an international language.

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Organized by EDF

China’s Environmental and Climate Governance

10:45 - 12:00 GST, China Pavilion

Co-hosted by the Policy Research Center for Environment and Economy, Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the People’s Republic of China, Natural Resources Defense Council’s Beijing Representative Office, and EDF’s Beijing Representative Office, this event will have researchers and experts from universities and institutes, governments, and nongovernmental organizations, discussing China’s policies and actions for addressing climate change.

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Organized by EDF

A Rights-Based Approach to Ocean Resilience: Local Governance as a Pillar of Climate Action

12:30 - 13:30 GST, Ocean Pavilion

This event spotlights human rights and the role of communities in shaping a rights-based approach on ocean conservation. It brings attention to tenure rights, the importance of inclusionary local governance, and the significance of sustainable management of marine ecosystems for coastal communities well-being, livelihoods, and food security. It will serve to foster a comprehensive understanding of overlooked perspectives from women, local communities and Indigenous people from the Global South who are reliant on ocean resources for their livelihoods.

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Scaling Up Blended Finance for Climate Solutions: Challenges and Opportunities for Emerging Markets

14:00 - 14:45 GST, AIIB Pavilion

This session will explore how leading financial institutes have guided stakeholders across climate change mitigation and adaptation while driving systemic transformation to ensure an equitable transition. During the session, speakers will also share insights on the key elements for a successful blended finance, including governance and navigating challenges.

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A Methane Data Revolution: The Road to Radical Transparency

14:00 - 14:45 GST, UNEP Pavilion

The world is on the cusp of a methane data revolution, with enhanced monitoring and heightened attention creating an unprecedented level of transparency. Harnessing this momentum to drive accountability and action is crucial for meeting the goals of the Global Methane Pledge convened by the European Union and United States, which currently has over 150 signatories and aims to reduce global methane emissions 30% by 2030. UNEP’s International Methane Emissions Observatory (IMEO) is a core implementing partner of the Pledge and its Annual Report, to be launched at COP 28, assesses the state of the methane data ecosystem, including the latest scientific research, action by industry, and what is needed for stakeholders to deliver emission reductions at the speed and scale required.

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Organized by EDF

Innovation for Climate Breakfast Mingle

9:00 - 10:30 GST, Water Pavilion

This breakfast mingle opens TD4: the Knowledge, Technology and Innovation Day at the COP28 Water Pavilion. It is a chance to network and explore game-changing innovations with water and climate professionals, and those from wider sectors. Join us to hear from innovators from a variety of backgrounds, and make new and old connections, setting the scene for an interactive and engaging day exploring the future of the water and climate sectors — and how we’ll get there.

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Scaling Up Land Restoration Initiatives

12:00 - 14:00 GST, Land and Drought Resilience Pavilion

This high-level event at COP28 aims to galvanize collective action among countries, international organizations and stakeholders. It will emphasize the urgency of addressing land degradation, deforestation, and desertification, given their profound impacts on climate change, biodiversity, water resources and human livelihoods. By bringing together decision-makers and experts, the meeting aims to facilitate knowledge exchange, foster collaborative partnerships, and secure commitments for financial and technical support. Moreover, it will underscore the policy frameworks that promote best practices and incentivize large-scale restoration efforts, with the aim to chart an actionable path forward, ensuring a sustainable and resilient future.

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Organized by EDF

Panel Discussion: Innovative Water Governance for Climate

16:30 - 18:00 GST, Water Pavilion

A high-level panel discussion exploring how to create an enabling environment for knowledge- and innovation-sharing in the water space. Key themes include governance, the role of partnerships, knowledge exchange, academia/private sector links, and scaling. EDF's Angela Churie Kallhauge will speak to EDF’s approach to partnership-building and highlight our growing water partnerships in the key impact areas of India, China and Mexico.

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Organized by EDF

What Comes After the GST? A Vision for COP28 and Beyond

16:45 - 18:15 GST, Side Event Room 5 (125 Pax)

To add real value, COP28 and the Global Stocktake need to send clear and specific signals as to what parties and non-party stakeholders could usefully do after COP28 in order to collectively achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement, both as part of an immediate response as well as through more ambitious NDCs in 2025. The other part of the mandate of the GST, on enhancing international cooperation, presents an important hook that could be used to move from zero-sum confrontational and incremental increases in ambition and implementation towards needed transformation. The normative potential of the UNFCCC process should be leveraged to ensure that all stakeholders — national governments, local authorities, civil society, the private sector, national level practitioners, multilateral organizations and U.N. agencies, among others — align their efforts to deliver an effective response to COP28 and the GST. C2ES, EDF, and IDDRI will set out a theory of change for moving from incremental progress in the UNFCCC to transformational levels of ambition and implementation.

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Organized by EDF

Effective Participation of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities in Jurisdictional REDD+

11:00 - 12:00 GST, Nature Positive Pavilion

This session will dive into several examples of the effective participation of Indigenous peoples and local communities in jurisdictional REDD+ in Central America, South America and Central Africa. Panelists will share their experiences in several tropical forest countries, like the effective participation of Indigenous peoples and local communities in the development of the TFCI and the partnership to develop a module to certify the socio-cultural benefits of forests and REDD+ programs under the Architecture for REDD+ Transactions.

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Energy Transition Accelerator Launch

11:00 - 12:00 GST, U.S. Center

The U.S. State Department, The Rockefeller Foundation and the Bezos Earth Fund will present the Energy Transition Accelerator (ETA), an innovative high-integrity carbon crediting initiative aimed at catalyzing private capital to support ambitious just energy transition strategies in developing countries. The ETA will help participating countries speed their transition from fossil fuel to clean power and achieve their nationally determined contributions. The ETA partners will be joined by senior representatives of countries and companies expressing their interest in participating in the ETA.

Nutrition, Gender and Climate: A Just Transition towards Nourishing Nations

11:00 - 12:00 GST, Food Systems Pavilion

As three billion people suffer from global hunger, further exacerbated by the effects of climate change, the world is waking up to the need to integrate and align global food systems transformation alongside climate mitigation and adaptation. However, as we continue to de-risk and build resilient food systems, one population group — women — is easily overshadowed in decisions, policy changes and implementing solutions. Women play a crucial role in the food supply chains; more than half are engaged in post-harvest food supply chains, and many more are invisible. Therefore, it is imperative that climate-resilient food systems solutions be gender- and nutrition-sensitive, leaving no one behind.

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The Evolving Voluntary Carbon Market: Reconciling the Paradox Between Innovation and Supervision

11:30 - 13:00 GST, Side Event Room 4

The event offers an opportunity to discuss the contrasting trends of increasing transparency and innovation in the realm of carbon credits. The VCM has grown dramatically in recent years, but the quality of some carbon credits has been questioned. While harmonized standards and close supervision increase market transparency, they may restrict innovation. How can we reconcile innovation, transparency and integrity through voluntary and regulatory interventions?

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How Ambitious Emission Reductions Can Save Lives

12:45 - 13:45 GST, GCA Action Arena, Al Wakri, Room 2

Taking rapid and ambitious action to address the climate crisis and reach the goals of the Paris Agreement is critical to protecting lives and livelihoods. This event will highlight the health opportunities of ambitious climate mitigation policies, both in terms of reduced climate impacts and possible co-benefits of specific mitigation actions across key fields including energy, transport and agriculture. This event has 3 objectives: to showcase the vast benefits of climate mitigation policies on safeguarding human health, as well as progress so far and new commitments; spotlight leaders (governments, cities, organizations) who are at the forefront of enacting ambitious mitigation policies and unlocking the benefits of those policies on human health and provide a platform to launch two reports.

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Organized by EDF

Is There a Pathway to 15-20+ Country Packages by 2025? Five Country Perspectives.

15:30 - 16:30 GST, CATF Pavilion

Throughout 2023, The Rockefeller Foundation and EDF organized a Just Energy Transition (JET-P) convening series. We hosted six dialogues focused on cataloguing lessons learned over the past three years. The first two dialogues were retrospective, focused on cataloging lessons learned from the first wave of JET-P agreements in South Africa, Vietnam and Indonesia. In the following four dialogues, we assessed their implications for designing a scalable model that could realistically and efficiently be applied to promote a just transition from fossil fuels in 15-20 countries by COP30. This culmination of the dialogue series will highlight five different country perspectives on how to build on the JETP early movers, to scope, fund and deliver additional country support packages that help address domestic political-economy barriers to faster energy and economic transitions.

U.S. Leadership Delivering Ambitious Methane Emissions Reductions in the Oil and Gas Sector

17:00 - 18:00 GST, U.S. Center

This panel discussion will highlight U.S. commitments and concrete actions to achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement by supporting methane emission reductions in the oil and gas sector. High level officials from across the U.S. government and a leading global environmental nongovernmental organization will announce new developments and actions they are taking in the US and globally to reduce methane emissions.

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Growing and Harvesting High Integrity Carbon Crops

19:00 - 20:00 GST, IETA Pavilion, BusinessHub, Side Event Room

Recent years have seen significant advances in science, technology and policy which, taken together, signal the time is now for high integrity crediting of ag soil carbon projects at scale. Join this discussion with a diverse group of experts regarding credit quality criteria and assessment in the context of agriculture.

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Advancing Coal Transition: Learn Adapt and ACT

9:00 - 10:00 GST, Climate Funds Pavilion

CIF’s Accelerating Coal Transition (ACT) Investment Program marks its second anniversary since it was launched at COP26 with the selection of four countries - South Africa, Indonesia, the Philippines, and India - to be supported under the USD 2.2bn program. Since then, two additional countries have been selected in the form of North Macedonia and Dominican Republic. The ACT Investment Program is the world’s first and largest multilateral program to facilitate coal transition in key emerging markets by tackling key challenges associated with policy and institutional reforms, governance, and coal asset infrastructure. It is driven using a programmatic approach that involves the development of country-led investment plans (IP) which is the outcome of a deeply consultative process involving key stakeholders at the country-level. The session seeks to share lessons learnt from the journey so far - from ambition setting to role of consultative engagement with local stakeholders, the importance of ensuring a just and inclusive transition, coal asset level considerations, underlying challenges, and the road ahead. It will bring together experiences from the program perspective, multilateral engagement and most importantly, country insights from those at the forefront of these issues, particularly in the Philippines and North Macedonia.

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Organized by EDF

China Carbon Market Development and Outlook Forum

9:00 - 10:15 GST, China Pavilion

This event is hosted by the Climate Change Department of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of PRC, co-hosted by Beijing Municipal Ecology and Environment Bureau, sponsored by National Center for Climate Change Strategy and International Cooperation, Emission Trading Expert Committee of Chinese Society of Environmental Sciences, Beijing Green Exchange, and Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). The forum will invite relevant regional or country’s minister level government officials, senior representatives from international and domestic research institutions and international organizations, and other relevant key experts to participate in discussions and exchanges on the progress of international carbon pricing mechanisms and policies, the status and outlook of the national carbon market and voluntary GHG emission reduction trading market. It will broadcast China's policies and actions to address climate change, especially the carbon market, in order to facilitate high-quality development of both the national carbon market and voluntary GHG emission reduction market.

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Skilling for the Green Future: Strategies to Close the Gap Between Employer Demand and Worker Supply

10:30 - 12:00 GST, Goals House - Concrete

Climate change is causing shifts in the ways of “doing business” across all industries, and those shifts require employees with new skills and capabilities. There is an emerging gap between employer demand and worker supply, and addressing it will require testing and scaling innovative approaches, with an emphasis on equity. Join us for a roundtable that will explore the responsibility of corporates, nonprofits, policy experts, researchers and philanthropies in helping to prepare and re-skill individuals for jobs in the growing green economy.

Initiating and Financing the Maritime Sustainable Transition in the Global South

11:00 - 12:00 GST, Ocean Pavilion

This interactive session examines financing innovations enabling an inclusive, just transition across the ocean economy. Through Asia Pacific projects, we'll share examples of social, environmental and economic value creation for the Global South. The panel will discuss project findings, funding needs and priorities. We'll leverage audience views on the best ways to deliver wider benefits and ensure initiatives drive progress for all in our mission to secure a sustainable blue economy transition.

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Climate Resilience and Health Care: Safeguarding Global Well-Being

13:30 - 15:30 GST, Resilience Hub, Uptown Tower, Dubai

This closed-door roundtable will address the range of climate-related impacts on health and explore the ways in which the industry can proactively invest in more climate-resilient and sustainable healthcare systems and mitigate climate impacts.

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Building a Bioeconomy to Thrive

14:00 - 15:00 GST, Finnish Pavilion

The energy transition critical. But while we acknowledge the critical importance of phasing out fossil fuels, we must also dedicate ourselves within the current ecological cycle to building a bioeconomy which enables humans, nature and climate to thrive. The long-term goal we need to have in our sights is to sustain the flourishing lives of up to 10 billion people, foster a thriving ecosystem, and restore equilibrium to the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. This is what ultimately what the bioeconomy needs to deliver. Our current bioeconomic approach focusses on what we need to break down and not on what we need to build. This paradigm is not fit for purpose and incentivization structures around it are not serving a long-term goal.

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Achieving Near Zero Methane Emissions

14:45 - 15:45 GST, Malaysia Pavilion

Methane is the second largest contributor of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and is responsible for at least a quarter of today’s global warming. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the energy sector is one of the major methane emitters, accounting for 40% of total methane emissions attributed to human activity. Rapid reduction of methane emissions in the short term is required to quickly address climate change. The Global Methane Pledge launched at COP26 in 2021 aims to reduce methane emissions by at least 30% by 2030 and since then, 149 countries, including Malaysia and five other ASEAN countries, have joined the pledge. The world is facing increasingly stringent legislation on methane emissions. The European Union (EU) has recently rolled out the first EU-wide legislation for methane emissions whereby it implements stricter obligations to monitor emissions, detect and repair methane leaks under the ‘Fit for 55’ package. The United States through Inflation Reduction Act included a provision on methane fee that is called a “waste emissions charge.” Japan is developing methane emissions Measurement, Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MMRV) framework to provide comparable and reliable information across the value chain.

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Leveraging Data for Transparency and Efficiency in Voluntary and Compliance Carbon Markets

15:00 - 16:30 GST, Korea Pavilion

The global efforts to combat climate change have highlighted the critical role of carbon markets in achieving emission reduction targets. Carbon markets are divided into two key segments: the Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM) and the Compliance Carbon Market (e.g., Emission Trading Scheme, or ETS). Both of these markets are instrumental in channeling investments towards projects that lead to verifiable and measurable emissions reductions. Acknowledging the significance of these markets, there's a growing focus on harnessing data and technology to enhance transparency, credibility and efficiency.

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Blue Economy in Latin America and the Caribbean: From Vision to Action

18:00 - 19:30 GST, Latin American and the Caribbean Region of Solutions Pavilion

The event will be a dynamic panel discussion aimed at creating synergies to achieve a multisectoral regional approach that enables joint actions toward a sustainable blue economy in Latin America and the Caribbean. It will also provide insights into the experiences of Chile and Mexico regarding the approach adopted and progress made in the development of Sustainable Ocean Plans in their respective contexts.

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Ministerial Hydrogen Roundtable

9:30 - 11:00 GST, IRENA Pavilion, Zone B2, Building 17

Hydrogen is a critical energy vector that can abate 60 to 80 GT of CO2 by 2050 and play a vital role in decarbonization of the global economy. This high-level roundtable on hydrogen will mark the launch of COP28 initiatives to accelerate commercialization of hydrogen, facilitating the transition to net zero. The event will also feature the launch of the Declaration of Intent on Mutual Recognition of Certification Schemes for Hydrogen and Derivatives and the ISO methodology for GHG emissions assessment of hydrogen. Decision-makers will participate in the inaugural public-private action on cross-border Trade with the International Hydrogen Trade Forum.

Sustainable Innovation Forum: Implementing Resilient Carbon Markets on a Global Scale

11:40 - 12:20 GST, Climate Action Innovation Zone

Regulatory and voluntary carbon markets both play a crucial role in incentivizing emissions reductions. However, both face key challenges regarding their scalability and effectiveness: understanding how volatility can be reduced in voluntary markets, how we can reinforce integrity in all carbon markets using measurement, reporting and verification (MRV), how to optimize and strengthen digital technology to unlock the potential of carbon markets and how to reduce uncertainty and fragmentation across all carbon markets.

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Oil and Gas in Transition: Clarifying Producer Responsibility and the Roles of NOCs and IOCs

12:00 - 13:00 GST, CATF Zero Carbon Future Pavilion

The panel will focus on the role of oil and gas producers, including national oil companies and international oil companies, on the road to net zero. Economic and geopolitical crises continue to challenge assumptions regarding the role of fossil fuel producers and the future of the energy system, as even the countries most committed to climate action seek out new sources and potentially lock in fossil fuel consumption for decades. It is clear that any energy transformation will require the participation — and some leadership — from major oil and gas producers.

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Organized by EDF

How Leading States Can Deliver Big on the US NDC

13:15 GST, WWF Panda Pavilion/America is All IN Pavilion

Many U.S. states have been climate leaders for years, including stepping up at a critical time during a lack of federal leadership to commit to achieving U.S. climate targets under the Paris Agreement. Now that the federal policy landscape has shifted in the past two years, with the Biden administration forcefully re-engaging in climate action and passing historic investments in clean energy, how can 25 leadership states & territories make the most of this moment to drive climate progress forward? This panel will showcase new analysis revealing states’ progress to date (relative to their commitments) and quantify the transformative role that these states can play to close the remaining gap to the U.S. NDC, as well as discuss the opportunity for binding state emissions policies to provide a pathway for governors and policymakers to achieve their climate commitments while unlocking federal investments to improve public health and grow strong clean energy economies.

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Boosting the Phase-Out of Methane Emissions

14:00 - 17:00 GST, ICC Pavilion

This meeting co-organised by the Task Force on Carbon Pricing in Europe and the International Finance Forum, is a follow-up of the side event which took place in Sharm El-Sheikh in the premises of the International Chamber of Commerce. We will monitor the progress realised since last year by the oil and gas sector. We will see if some of them, who have already made most of the necessary investments to phase out methane emissions could not lead the way to the other oil and gas companies. We will explore the role of public authorities and raise the question of the creation of a global entity under the heading of a World Climate Organisation (WCO), complementary to the WTO, which in the spirit of the Montreal Protocol, would put in place global rules and regulations to lead the whole sector to comply to net-zero emissions of methane.

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Organized by EDF

Dairy Methane Action Alliance (DMAA) Announcement

15:30 - 17:00 GST, Women’s Pavilion Majlis

Over 100 countries signed COP26’s Global Methane Pledge to commit to reducing methane emissions, with agriculture as a critical sector for action. This session will feature innovative approaches to public-private methane reduction in the agriculture sector, including the launch of the DMAA, a new global initiative to address dairy methane emissions.

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Driving Global Industrial Decarbonization: The Potential of Carbon Markets

18:30 - 19:30 GST, IETA BusinessHub, Side Event Room

This event will bring together project developers, regulators, buyers and country representatives to discuss the potential of carbon markets to support the deployment of commercial decarbonization technologies and business into the developing world. This session is hosted by IETA in partnership with Climate Investment, a decarbonization focused venture-growth investor.

Organized by EDF

Advancing Strategy at COP28: Breakfast and Discussion with EDF

8:30 - 10:30 | Register now

EDF is hosting a breakfast event featuring experts offering an inside perspective on the broad political context of the talks at COP and how to advance the global transition away from a carbon-intensive economy despite challenging geopolitics. Space is limited for this gathering.

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Investing in the Blue Economy for a Better Future

12:00 - 12:45 GST, Nordic Pavilion

Climate change affects the health of marine and coastal ecosystems and has an immediate impact on the survival of people living in the Global South. This event features NDF-supported solutions from across the world and discusses the importance of the sustainable blue economy.

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Methane and Environmental Justice

12:00 - 13:15 GST, Regional Climate Foundations Pavilion

This event facilitates a dialogue on the importance of reducing methane emissions in the context of the climate emergency and environmental justice.

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YOUNGO Water and Climate WG

13:00 - 14:00 GST, Climate Action Zone

EDF’s Nick Haas will join the YOUNGO Water and Climate WG as they hold an event around youth working in water-sparse areas to advocate for climate solutions and sufficient funds from loss and damage.

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Organized by EDF

Sustainable Aviation Buyers Alliance (SABA) and the Launch of the SAFc Registry

15:00 - 16:30 GST, IETA Pavilion

Join SABA, RMI, and EDF at COP28 as we celebrate the launch of the SAFc registry — the only independent, non-profit, universally accessible registry for SAF certificates. We will also share updates on our latest joint procurement of SAF certificates, linked to SAF that will that reduce emissions by more than 700k tons of CO2 across 5 years. That’s the equivalent of avoiding the emissions of half a million New York to Los Angeles round trip flights.

Organized by EDF

International Workshop on Enhancing Methane Mitigation Efforts in China

16:00 - 17:30 GST, China Pavilion

China is the largest methane emitter worldwide, contributing 18% of total global methane emissions in 2018. Mitigation action in China is essential to reducing global methane emissions and meeting the 1.5 degree temperature goal. Against this backdrop, a group of leading international NGOs (INGOs) in China—Energy Foundation China (EF China), Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), World Resources Institute (WRI), Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI)—are working together toward a shared vision to dramatically enhance China’s methane mitigation ambition and action at this critical moment.

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New MRV Capacities and Their Impact on Methane Emissions Data Transparency: How NDCs Should Capitalize and Respond in a Harmonized and Validated Way

16:00 - 17:00 GST, Chez ICC, ICC Auditorium

A growing number of satellites and other remote sensing technologies are coming online and making more emissions data publicly available — enabling us to see sources of methane and CO2 that previously went undetected, as well as giving us a more accurate picture of the sources we were already aware of. Companies, governments, financiers, and civil society looking to cut methane stand to benefit from increased data access and availability in new and exciting ways yet capturing the full benefits of this data require trust in its quality and usability — specifically a MRV framework that is globally accepted by multiple institutions. Several efforts are underway and laying the groundwork for the protocols necessary to underpin data credibility.

Climate Leadership Summit and Dinner | Global Stocktake: Energy Security, Net Zero and Sustainability

16:15 - 20:45 GST, Burj Daman

This event is a high-level summit, dinner and exclusive discussion on multiple pressing issues that are shaping the boardroom agenda.

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Getting Hydrogen Right: Perspectives from three leading NGOs

16:30 - 17:30 GST, CATF Zero Carbon Future Pavilion

It’s a make-or-break moment for hydrogen’s role in our clean energy future. With the potential to flexibly deliver energy without polluting the climate, hydrogen could be a valuable climate solution if we get it right, particularly for decarbonizing sectors that are difficult to electrify. That’s why the United States, Europe and other countries and regions are deploying vast new incentives to jumpstart a new clean hydrogen economy. But how it is produced, managed and used all matter. Get those right, and these investments could have an enormous climate benefit. Get them wrong, and we risk squandering huge resources on projects that could increase climate pollution while worsening local air quality. Join us as we convene leaders from CATF, NRDC and EDF to chart a sustainable path forward for this innovative clean fuel.

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Avoiding the Perfect Storm: Enabling Aquatic Foods Climate Solutions Through Policy, Science and Finance

17:00 - 18:00 GST, Food and Agriculture Pavilion

This session highlights the vulnerability of wild capture fisheries and aquaculture systems to climate change and the opportunity and urgent need for policy, science and finance action to prevent impacts on those most dependent on aquatic systems for food and nutrition. It will showcase stories and experiences from managers and coastal communities, who are at the front line of the climate emergency and its impacts on the ocean, and it will provide thought leadership on the policy and finance leadership that is needed to address the ”forgotten fisheries” and those dependent on them.

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Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities Participating as Partners in REDD+

18:30 - 20:00 GST, Side Event Room 1

This event will include the presentation of the experience of Indigenous peoples and local community organizations participating as partners in the development of REDD+ certifications with the Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART) and the REDD+ Indigena Amazonico (RIA) in the Communal Reserves in the Peru Amazon.

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Organized by EDF

Driving Action at the UN Climate Conference: Perspective from EDF Experts in Dubai

21:00 - 22:00 GST, Virtual event | Register now

Join us for an EDF-hosted webinar to get an inside look at the updates from COP28. Featuring EDF president Fred Krupp and other EDF experts in Dubai, we will hear firsthand their insight into negotiations, insider updates on EDF’s goals, and how we are contributing to these international discussions.

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Organized by EDF

Jurisdictional REDD+ Perspectives: Progress on Scaling Finance and Support for Forest Conservation

8:30 - 9:30 GST, Nature Positive Pavilion

Halting and reversing deforestation by 2030 will require high-integrity approaches to forest conservation. To accomplish this, jurisdictions need to be empowered to design and implement impactful JREDD+ programs and generate large-scale mitigation results. This panel session will bring together the NGO community and country representatives to highlight progress with several jurisdictional scale REDD+ initiatives, showcasing lessons learned and perspectives on the path forward to continue catalyzing urgent finance and support needed for forest conservation at scale.

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Mangroves: An Opportunity for the Mitigation of Climate Change and the Blue Economy

11:00 - 12:30 GST, Latin America and the Caribbean Pavilion

The objective of the event is to create a space for dialogue to reflect on the importance of the mangrove ecosystem for the maintenance of global biodiversity, climate change mitigation, food security, the resilience of coastal communities and the blue economy. Additionally, attendees will learn about experiences, perspectives and trends related to blue carbon projects — all opportunities to conserve and restore mangrove ecosystems with active participation of coastal communities.

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Strengthening Innovation Cooperation on Green Development for a Low-Carbon, Inclusive and Resilient Future

13:00 - 14:15 GST, China Pavilion

The world today is faced with multiple severe and complex challenges, including slow economic growth, inflation, aggravated geopolitical tensions, expanding inequality, as well as the climate and nature crisis. These challenges have created many uncertainties for the future, especially for developing countries that are faced with the dual crises of climate change and debt. As the deficit in global climate governance continues to enlarge, it is only through cooperation between public and private sectors, Eastern and Western countries, and the global North and the global South, can we jointly address these global challenges. The China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED) and the BRI International Green Development Coalition (BRIGC) are important platforms for promoting North-South dialogue and South-South cooperation. Representatives of Chinese and foreign governments, CCICED members, special advisors and partners, BRIGC members and partners, experts in priority areas of green transition, including climate, energy, transport, urban development and finance, as well as representatives of the private sector, will be invited to engage in discussions on green industry and economic growth, green development and security, and international cooperation on climate change, to promote dialogues on green transition and gather greater consensus for green development.

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Organized by EDF

Valuing the Treasures of the Twilight Zone: Mesopelagic Species and Their Delivery of Biodiversity, Climate, Food and Other Services

14:00 - 15:00 GST, Ocean Pavilion

The extremely abundant species of the mesopelagic realm are one of the ocean’s most undervalued treasures. Comprising an astonishing array of biodiversity that may represent 95% of global marine biomass, they play a critical role in ecosystem functioning and are viewed as a potential replacement for dwindling sources of fishmeal and fish oil. However, their potential to help address climate change via movement of fixed carbon into the depths has only recently become a focus of ocean research — there remains much we need to learn to ensure a precautionary approach that includes climate dynamics is fully incorporated before considering any new targeting of these species for industrial exploitation. We must fully evaluate the benefits they can provide humans and nature both in and out of the water and use this information to set up regulatory frameworks to help guide how the world’s nations value and use mesopelagic species to balance ecological and human needs. This panel will discuss what science suggests are the greatest benefits of mesopelagic species to the planet, the role of management in conserving these benefits, and ways to ensure we make the most of this resource.

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Organized by EDF

Celebrating a New Partnership to Accelerate Jurisdictional REDD+ Success

17:00 - 19:00 GST, Nature Positive Pavilion

Trailblazing forest nations are pursuing ambitious and impactful pathways to protect and restore forests through high-integrity jurisdictional REDD+ (JREDD+) programs. Join us at a reception to celebrate the Jurisdictional REDD+ Technical Assistance Partnership (JTAP), an emerging initiative aiming to align technical support for the critical efforts of these leaders with the rapid pace and scale needed to realize ambitious global climate targets. Reception speakers, representing leading voices from forest countries and nongovernmental organization partners, will discuss this ambitious new collaboration to channel energy, expertise, and resources, in response to expressed needs from forest nations and stakeholders, to help overcome barriers to design and implementation of these crucial programs.

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Children and Youth Thematic Day Engagement

EDF’s Nick Haas will be joining the YOUNGO delegation led by Global North and South FP in delivering the global youth statement to the U.N. Delegation.

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Organized by EDF

Valuing the Treasures of the Twilight Zone: Mesopelagic Species and Their Delivery of Biodiversity, Climate, Food and Other Services

9:00 - 10:00 GST, Nature Positive Pavilion

This panel will discuss what science suggests are the greatest benefits of mesopelagic species to the planet, the role of management in conserving these benefits, and ways to ensure we make the most of this resource.

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Organized by EDF

Jurisdictional REDD+ Benefit Sharing Mechanism (JREDD+) and Their Impact on Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities in Ecuador and Costa Rica

15:00 - 16:00 GST, One Planet Pavilion

In this panel, EDF will share its experience leading the design and validation of benefit sharing plans in the JREDD+ framework with the support of countries, such as Ecuador and Costa Rica, plus other organizations including nongovernmental organizations and IPLC organizations, to support jurisdictions in their REDD+ programs. The benefit sharing plans are intended to serve the different stakeholders (Indigenous peoples, local communities, governments and other actors) as a guide for the implementation and monitoring of benefit sharing mechanisms (monetary and non-monetary) in the implementation of emission-reduction activities within REDD+ programs in each country.

Organized by EDF

Hydrogen Creates the Future: Low-Carbon, Security and Climate Effects

18:00 - 19:30 GST, China Pavilion

Panelists will share experiences from China’s development of green hydrogen and will provide insights into the future of green hydrogen development from perspectives of policy, standards, technology and industry.

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Launch Event for Nature and Climate Action: A Resource Navigator for Companies and Financial Institutions

9:00 - 10:00 GST, Nature Pavilion

The 2022 Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework commits the world to halting and reversing nature and biodiversity loss by 2030 and includes directives for businesses and financial institutions. Global Commons Alliance, the UN Climate Change High-Level Team, AccountAbility and key partners, including EDF, have developed a new navigation resource to orient companies and financial institutions within the landscape of high-impact management tools, methodologies, and disclosure frameworks that address nature and climate action and transparency. This session will highlight key findings from this work and bring perspectives from the industry on how the navigator can be used in their work.

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Organized by EDF

Rising to the Challenge: Bridging Water and Food Policies, Practices and Financing for Sustainable Food System Transformation

9:30 - 10:30 GST, Food Systems Pavilion

This panel — composed of scientists, Indigenous knowledge holders, farmers, and representatives from development and private organizations — will discuss the growing threat of water shortages and floods to food systems and the parallel need to better integrate water and food system management from governance to financing to community level planning. Additionally, panelists will talk about the challenges and opportunities for more integrated water and food systems and examine the financial and governance barriers and opportunities for achieving a more systems-based approach, plus highlight the role of collaboration across diverse stakeholder groups and the actors and actions needed to deliver more integrated water and food systems that work for both people and nature.

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COP Presidency Program: Sustainable Consumption, Healthy Affordable Food for All, and Reducing Food Waste

10:30 - 12:00 GST, Connect Conference Auditorium

Shifting consumption and reducing food loss and waste are crucial for climate and affordable, healthy, sustainable food. In 2022, almost 735 million suffered from hunger, 3 billion couldn't afford healthy diets, and a third of global food production was lost or wasted, costing trillions. This event aims to engage stakeholders with actionable solutions for more sustainable consumption patterns, promoting healthier food choices, and reducing food loss and waste. It will also emphasize outcomes, future policies and investments in healthy, affordable and sustainable consumption by improving food environments, enhancing demand for healthier food, exploring alternative proteins, and reducing food loss and waste across urban-rural areas.

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Organized by EDF

Little Fish, Big Impact: Transforming School Meals through Local Aquatic Foods

11:00 - 12:00 GST, Food Systems Pavilion

At the nexus of school meals, nutrition, and climate resilience, there lies an untapped opportunity to integrate locally sourced, sustainable aquatic foods into school meals. As the COP Presidency has clearly indicated the important role that food systems will play at this year’s COP28 conference, the pivotal role of aquatic foods in ensuring nutrition and food security for some of the world’s most malnourished and climate-vulnerable populations cannot be overlooked.

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Organized by EDF

Marrakech Partnership Implementation Lab: Aquatic Food and Protein Transition

12:30 - 13:30 GST, Lab 2, Al Jeer

The Transforming Aquatic Food Systems event aims to look holistically at the state of the aquatic food sector (food derived from aquatic animals, plants or algae that are caught or cultivated in freshwater and marine environments). The event is a targeted effort to promote innovative approaches that expand the contribution of aquatic food systems to climate, food security and nutrition. The event will consider the complex interaction between global and local components in aquatic food systems and support multi-stakeholder and full value chain interventions to secure and enhance livelihoods, foster equitable distribution of benefits and provide for an adequate use and conservation of biodiversity and ecosystems, along with accounting for climate benefits.

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Organized by EDF

Press Briefing from EDF and Greenhouse Communications

12:30 - 13:45 GST, Food Systems Pavilion

EDF and Greenhouse Communications will bring the entire food systems community together for a press briefing where we can collectively offer highlights regarding policy positions and announcements and exciting reflections from spokespeople.

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Organized by EDF

Championing Global Food Systems Transformation

14:00 - 15:00 GST, Food Systems Pavilion

Food systems globally are failing to deliver on multiple fronts with devastating consequences for people and the planet. There are currently too few compelling examples of what it means to actually transform food systems in line with food security, nutrition, climate and nature goals. In this panel, governments and civil society organizations discuss the potential catalytic power of plurilateral action in closing the ambition and implementation gaps on food systems.

Organized by EDF

Forgotten Foods and Future Harvests: Enabling Food Producers to Thrive in a Climate-Impacted World

15:30 - 16:30 GST, Food Systems Pavilion

The increasing over-reliance of our food systems on a limited range of products presents pressing challenges in the context of a rapidly changing climate. Harvest failures and fisheries collapse are increasing risks for food security and livelihoods around the world. Many of the “adaptations” proposed include creating more environmental damage and consuming more natural resources. This event will explore the crucial role of food system diversification in building more sustainable and resilient food systems, including both aquatic and terrestrial food systems. Diversification is not easy, and speakers will unpack barriers and pathways forward, including the actors and actions needed to deliver food systems that work for both people and nature.

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Organized by EDF

Delivering Solutions to Agricultural Methane while Supporting Nutrition

16:45 - 17:45 GST, Food Systems Pavilion

Methane emissions are one of the major drivers of climate change and cutting these emissions is recognized as the most impactful way to slow the rate of global warming. Agriculture is responsible for 40% of human-caused methane emissions, with the major sources being livestock and rice systems. Agriculture will therefore need to play a crucial role in reducing human-caused methane emissions and countries meeting their commitments under the Global Methane Pledge. Cutting methane emissions from agriculture is critical to slow the rate of climate change but, if done incorrectly, we risk increasing malnutrition globally. This panel will focus on understanding the future and current state of solutions and discuss how companies and farmers are implementing solutions.

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Organized by EDF

Promoting the Declaration Of 2028 as Year of Saline Agriculture: Climate Resilient Agriculture for Sustainable Production Systems and Healthy Ecosystems in Salt-Affected Areas

18:00 - 19:00 GST, Food Systems Pavilion

The technical session will bring together professionals and experts representing prominent organizations from Europe, South America, the Middle East, Far East and West-North Africa, who will showcase work on saline agriculture and its potential. It is expected that more than 100 participants will attend the session, both in-person and virtually. This emphasizes the importance of the topic and a major interest in finding solutions to mitigate and adapt agriculture to salinity. This session is particularly relevant in the context of COP28, since climate change can severely aggravate salinization due to prolonged droughts. With scarce rainfall, the groundwater table drops, as water is pumped out for domestic use and to irrigate farmland. In coastal regions, this can force seawater into aquifers, to flow further inland, aggravating salinity issues.

Organized by EDF

How Can Carbon Finance Create Opportunities for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities?

11:10 - 12:10 GST, Indigenous Peoples Pavilion

Working together with technical and strategic partners engaged with topics related to carbon markets and IPs and LCs at global, regional and national levels, this public event at COP28 aims to highlight the importance of the application of social and environmental safeguards, as part of high-integrity VCM, and learnings and best practices on this topic; showcase examples of how carbon finance has supported nature-based solutions and IPs' and LCs' sustainable development within their territories, focusing on success stories plus how strategies and actions were integrated; identify key challenges and action-steps toward scaling-up Indigenous engagement and Indigenous benefits into VCM finance and projects; and introduce the work already done by the ICVCM to consolidate integrity and include IPs' and LCs' rights and concerns into the CCPs and Assessment Framework.

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Coastal Seas and People: Co-Design of Transformative Marine Solutions

14:00 - 15:00 GST, Ocean Pavilion

Local ecological knowledge systems and the connection of coastal communities to mangroves have been overlooked in marine science research, conservation, and policy. This session will address issues associated with the legacy of colonialism, ways of knowing, and the need to challenge how we understand ecosystems and the different forms of knowledge about how mangroves are responding to climate change and how communities are restoring them. The session will present work from mangrove restoration projects and Black women-led artisanal fisheries.

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Green and Low-Carbon Transition Development in the Power Industry

16:30 - 17:45 GST, China Pavilion

This event invite research institutions, non-governmental organizations, energy and electric power enterprises from all over the world to explore the actions from global energy and power industry under climate change, highlight the policies and actions of China's power industry in its green and low-carbon transition, promote the construction of new power systems domestically and foster future international cooperation.

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Tracking Progress Towards Paris Agreement Goals in the Context of the Energy Crisis

18:00 - 19:30 GST, OECD Virtual Pavilion | Register now

This session will discuss on-going work on a methodology for greenhouse gas emission mapping for non-market-based policy instruments in the context of the IPAC-IFCMA GHG emissions methodology. Additionally, it will investigate policies in OECD and partner countries to respond to the energy crisis with an eye to potential implication for mitigation policies.

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Surveying the Landscape of Capacity Building for Carbon Market Cooperation: What Works, What Doesn’t, and Where Are the Gaps?

18:00 - 20:30 GST, Japan Pavilion

Convening capacity building implementers, funders, and community stakeholders, this event will explore the capacity building needed to unlock the potential of international carbon market cooperation. Different actors in the carbon market ecosystem have different capacity gaps. A diverse set of panelists will identify those gaps, explore methods to mobilize funding, and discuss how to measure success.

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Organized by EDF

Infinity Fish: The Climate Implications of the Future of Fish and Fisheries

15:30 - 16:30 GST, Ocean Pavilion

This event will feature a conversation with Dr. Ussif Rashid Sumaila, professor and director of the Fisheries Economics Research Unit at University of British Columbia’s Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries. Sumaila is also the recent winner of the 2023 Tyler Prize. During the session Sumaila will discuss his new book, Infinity Fish — Economics and the Future of Fish and Fisheries, and its implications on the climate debate, the valuation of natural resources, and how it all impacts how we make decisions.

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