Financing the just transition
The international finance sector will play a catalytic role in the green transition. To meet the capital requirements ahead, innovation in blended finance approaches will be imperative, with private financial institutions working in partnership with governments and multilateral banks in unprecedented ways.
However, at present, social and human rights factors are often seen as a risk for green investments that only adds cost and complexity, with a persistent lack of investment flowing to Emerging Market and Development Economy (EMDE) countries where the transition imperative includes deploying decarbonisation as a development tool.
Speakers and attendees will explore the ways in which blended capital approaches can incorporate both social risks and social opportunities to serve truly just transitions locally and globally.
This event is organised by the the Swiss Government's Peace and Human Rights Division of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Human Rights Diplomacy, and supported by the Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB).
This dialogue is being hosted in the House of Switzerland because the Government of Switzerland considers just transitions, as recognized in the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, an important crosscutting topic which is crucial for the successful implementation of climate action and limiting global warming to 1.5°C. Switzerland believes that economic sustainability and human rights are mutually dependent and interconnected. It is therefore imperative to involve the private sector, which plays a central role in shaping and delivering the transition, in discussions on the quality and pace of just transitions. The application of a human rights-centred approach by financial institutions, with the meaningful participation of those most affected, are priorities in the global just transitions agenda precisely to ensure the fastest and most efficient deployment of capital and industrial shifts.
Speakers
Alexandre Fassel
State Secretary, Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs
Mafalda Duarte
Executive Director, Green Climate Fund
Rachel Kyte
Co-Chair, VCMI; Former Chief Executive Officer of Sustainable Energy for All; former Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All
Leslie Johnston
CEO, Laudes Foundation
To RSVP to this event
Contact Rémy Friedmann, Senior Advisor, Desk Human Security and Business, Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), Peace and Human Rights Division: remy.friedmann@eda.admin.ch
For more information
Contact Andrés Zaragoza, Event liaison (IHRB): andres.zaragoza@ihrb.org
For media requests
Contact Sam Simmons, Head of Communications (IHRB): sam.simmons@ihrb.org, +44 (0)78 953 176 57
