At the XII Baku Global Forum, (held from March 13-15) organized by the Nizami Ganjavi International Center, Prof. Phoebe Koundouri had the honor of joining esteemed colleagues in a panel discussion on COP29: Breakthrough to Belém – Accelerating Transformation. The discussion focused on the key challenges and opportunities in global climate policy, finance, and action following COP29, with an emphasis on shaping the agenda for COP30 in Belém.
Prof. Koundouri spoke on climate finance and economic opportunities, highlighting the critical need to strengthen the economic case for decarbonization, address challenges in securing climate finance from developed nations, explore innovative funding mechanisms, and increase private sector involvement.
The panel, moderated by Jean Baderschneider (Board of Directors, Fortescue Ltd.; Chair of the Board, The Global Fund to End Modern Slavery; former Vice President, ExxonMobil), underscored the urgency of scaling climate finance, enhancing policy implementation, and fostering international collaboration to achieve meaningful progress ahead of COP30.
Distinguished speakers included Boris Johnson (former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom); Dr. Maimunah Mohd Sharif (Mayor of Kuala Lumpur); María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés (President of the 73rd Session of the UN General Assembly; former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ecuador); Nigar Arpadarai (Member of Parliament, UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for COP29); Lord Fakafanua (Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Tonga); Rashid Alimov (former Secretary-General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization; former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan); Hakima El Haite (President of Liberal International); and Manuel Pulgar-Vidal (Climate and Energy Global Practice Leader, WWF; former Minister of the Environment of Peru; President of UNFCCC COP20).
