Day 1
14 October 2020
Greener, Smarter, Fairer: Mobilising leadership for a low-carbon and climate resilient recovery
The recovery from the COVID-19 economic crisis coincides with a pivotal time in the fight against climate change. 2020 is the year that countries are to submit their new or revised national climate action plans, a key step towards realizing the Paris Agreement. It also starts a decade in which the world must cut emissions by over 45% if global warming is to be limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Faced with the biggest shock to the global economic system since the Great Depression, governments don’t have to compromise economic priorities for the sake of environmental ones. Low-carbon stimulus measures can help policy makers fulfil both needs at once - but the clock is ticking. Given the limited fiscal and monetary capacity of developing countries in ensuring this dual objective, developing countries will require innovative financial structuring to ensure that these green stimulus measures do not compound the debt burden they already face. Against this backdrop, the high-level opening dialogue aims to frame the conditions for a green and resilient recovery in developing countries, define the role and highlight the opportunities for the private sector in financing such efforts.
H.E. Macky Sall
President, Republic of Senegal
His Excellency Mr. Macky Sall, President of the Republic of Senegal, is a Geological Engineer and Geophysicist.
He was trained at the Institut des Sciences de la Terre (Institute of Earth Sciences, Sénégal), then at Ecole Nationale Supérieure du Pétrole et des Moteurs (Higher National School of Petroleum and Engines-ENSPM) and Institut Français du Pétrole-IFP (French Institute of Petroleum) both in France. He is a Member of several National and International Associations of Geologists and Geophysicists.
Born on 11 December 1961 in the City of Fatick (Senegal), President Sall is married to Marième Faye Sall and father of three children.
President Sall was elected in 2012 and re-elected in 2019. Prior to his election as President, Macky Sall has held prominent positions both in the Government and the Parliament of Senegal, including Prime Minister of the Republic of Senegal from 2004 to 2007. In December 2008, he created his own political Party Alliance pour la République-APR (Alliance for the Republic) under which he returned as Mayor of Fatick following local elections in March 2009.
President Sall was elected in January 2013 by the African Union Summit as Chairperson of the Heads of State and Government NEPAD Orientation Committee (HSGOC), the leading body of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) which is the African strategy for Economic development and International Partnership. From May 2015 to June 2016, he was Chairperson of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government Conference.
Among various distinctions, President Sall has been awarded the title of Dr Honoris Causa at Abomey Calvy University, Benin, at Swiss UMEF University Geneva, Switzerland, at Pukyong University of Busan, Republic of Korea, and at the Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers, (CNAM) France. He is an honorary member of the Académie Française des Sciences d’Outre-Mer. He won the Sunhak Peace Price from the NGO Universal Peace Federation (Korea) and he donated the 500,000 USD award to the African Union Peace Fund during the 2020 AU Summit in Addis Abeba.
H.E. Sri Mulyani Indrawati
Minister of Finance, Republic of Indonesia
Born in Tanjung Karang, Lampung on August 26, 1962, Sri Mulyani Indrawati earned her bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Indonesia (1986). She then continued her studies in the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, United States and earned her Master of Science in Policy Economics (1990) as well as Ph.D. in Economics (1992).
As a specialist in public finance, fiscal policy and labor economics, she was chosen as the Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) representing 12 countries in Southeast Asia – including Indonesia – from 2002 to 2004. In October 2004, she received her first cabinet appointment as Indonesia’s Minister of Development Planning. In December 2005, she was appointed to serve as the Minister of Finance. During this period, Sri Mulyani Indrawati was able to stabilize the economy, maintain prudent fiscal policy, decrease the cost of borrowing, manage the debt level, and create trust of investors.
As Minister of Finance, she also introduced extensive reforms and created fundamental changes in the Ministry. On September 2006, Sri Mulyani was crowned as the “Best Minister of Finance in Asia” by the Emerging Markets during the IMF-World Bank Group Annual Meetings in Singapore. She was also chosen as the world’s 23rd most influential woman by Forbes Magazine in 2008 and the 2nd most influential woman in Indonesia by Globe Asia Magazine in 2007.
In 2008, she served as the Acting Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs. In 2010, she was then appointed as the Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of the World Bank and served in this position for six years. In July 2016, Sri Mulyani Indrawati was appointed as the Minister of Finance by President Joko Widodo.
In 2018, she was awarded as the “Best Minister in the World” at the World Government Summit and Global Markets conferred her as the “Finance Minister of the Year – East Asia Pacific”. She also was awarded “Best Finance Minister in Asia Pacific” by FinanceAsia in 2017, 2018, and 2019. In addition, she serves as the Co-Chair of the Pathways for Prosperity Commission on Technology and Inclusive Development with Melinda Gates. She is also the Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum on ASEAN and sits on the Board of UNICEF’s Generation Unlimited Initiative.
On October 23, 2019, Sri Mulyani Indrawati was reappointed as Minister of Finance in the second term cabinet of President Joko Widodo. This appointment is the fourth as a finance minister in four different cabinets in Indonesia.
H.E. Amina J. Mohammed
Deputy Secretary-General, United Nations
Ms. Amina J. Mohammed is the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations and Chair of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group.
Prior to her appointment, Ms. Mohammed served as Minister of Environment of the Federal Republic of Nigeria where she steered the country’s efforts on climate action and efforts to protect the natural environment.
Ms. Mohammed first joined the United Nations in 2012 as Special Adviser to former Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon with the responsibility for post-2015 development planning. She led the process that resulted in global agreement around the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the creation of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Ms. Mohammed began her career working on the design of schools and clinics in Nigeria. She served as an advocate focused on increasing access to education and other social services, before moving into the public sector, where she rose to the position of adviser to three successive Presidents on poverty, public sector reform, and sustainable development.
Ms. Mohammed has been conferred several honorary doctorates and has served as an adjunct professor, lecturing on international development. The recipient of various global awards, Ms Mohammed has served on numerous international advisory boards and panels. She is the mother of six children and has two grandchildren.
Christiana Figueres
Founder, Global Optimism
Christiana Figueres is a Costa Rican citizen and an internationally recognized leader on climate change. She was Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) from 2010 to 2016.
During her tenure at the UNFCCC, Ms. Figueres brought together national and sub-national governments, corporations and activists, financial institutions and NGOs to jointly deliver the historic Paris Agreement on climate change, in which 195 sovereign nations agreed on a collaborative path forward to limit future global warming to well below 2°C, and strive for 1.5°C, in order to protect the most vulnerable. For this achievement Ms. Figueres has been credited with forging a new brand of collaborative diplomacy and received multiple awards.
Since then Ms. Figueres has continued to accelerate the global response to climate change. Today she is the co-founder of Global Optimism, co-host of the podcast “Outrage & Optimism” and is the co-author of the recently published book, “The Future We Choose: Surviving the Climate Crisis.
Ms. Figueres sits on multiple executive and advisory boards and is a frequent public speaker and media commentator. She is a graduate of Swarthmore College and the London School of Economics. She lives in Costa Rica and has two fantastic daughters.
Joseph E. Stiglitz
Professor, Columbia University and Winner of the Nobel prize in Economics
Joseph E. Stiglitz is an American economist and a professor at Columbia University. He is the co-chair of the High-Level Expert Group on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress at the OECD, and the Chief Economist of the Roosevelt Institute.
A recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (2001) and the John Bates Clark Medal (1979), he is a former senior vice president and chief economist of the World Bank and a former chairman of the US president's Council of Economic Advisers. In 2000, Stiglitz founded the Initiative for Policy Dialogue, a think tank on international development based at Columbia University
Known for his pioneering work on asymmetric information, Stiglitz's work focuses on income distribution, risk, corporate governance, public policy, macroeconomics and globalization. He is the author of numerous books. His most recent titles are People, Power, and Profits: Progressive Capitalism for an Age of Discontent, Rewriting the Rules of the European Economy, Globalization and Its Discontents Revisited, The Euro and Rewriting the Rules of the American Economy.
Photo ©Daniel Baud © Sydney Opera House.
Yannick Glemarec
Executive Director, GCF
Yannick Glemarec is the Executive Director of the Green Climate Fund. He was appointed by the GCF Board at its 22nd meeting and took office on 3 April 2019.
Yannick has 30 years of international experience in climate change, development and finance, and their interrelationships. He served as UN Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director for Policy and Programme in UN Women from 2015 to 2018, overseeing services provided by close to 2,000 UN Women staff in over 80 countries worldwide. Before joining UN Women, he was Executive Coordinator of the UN Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office in New York from 2013 to the beginning of 2015. He was responsible for the design and administration of about 100 UN trust funds supporting humanitarian, post-conflict, development and climate action in over 100 countries.
Previously, he served first as UNDP Deputy Executive Coordinator and then as UNDP Executive Coordinator for the Global Environment Facility in New York from 2003 to 2012, where he oversaw the formulation and implementation of a USD 6 billion portfolio for climate change management, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable natural resources management. Earlier, he worked with UNDP in increasingly senior development and environment programme positions in Switzerland, Viet Nam, China and Bangladesh.
Yannick holds a PhD from the University of Paris in Environment Sciences, and two Master’s degrees in Hydrology and in Business Administration. He has authored several publications in the field of risk management, renewable energy, climate finance, and co-benefits between human rights, gender equality and climate action.
He is the third Executive Director of the Fund.
Aligning investor portfolios with 1.5°C: Why now is the time to commit private and institutional funds where it’s needed
The climate crisis is too big, too serious and too urgent to rely on the resources of public institutions alone. Today, institutional investors incl. sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, and insurance companies manage more than USD 131 trillion in assets. Yet only a negligible portion is channelled into climate investments in developing economies. Although COP26 has been postponed to 2021, we take up the climate action agenda to encourage every company, bank, insurer and investor to adjust their business models for a low carbon world. Against this backdrop, this session brings together global and national leaders to discuss climate related investment risks and what it will take to mobilize private and institutional investors to deliver the funding needed to back bankable climate projects in developing economies.
Thierry Déau
CEO, Meridiam
Thierry Déau is Meridiam’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. He founded Meridiam, an independent investment firm, recently transformed into a Benefit Corporation*, specialized in the development, financing, and management of long-term and sustainable infrastructure projects in 2005, with the belief that the alignement of interests between the public and private sector can provide critical solutions to the collective needs of communities. Managing $8 Billion of assets, the firm has to date more than 80 projects under development, construction or in operation.
Meridiam currently holds offices in Paris, New York, Toronto, Istanbul, Addis Ababa, Dakar, Luxemburg, Aman and Vienna and is a leading investor in public infrastructure across Europe, North America and Africa.
Prior to Meridiam, Thierry worked for France’s Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations where he held several positions with its engineering and development subsidiary Egis Projects, moving up from project manager, then director for concession projects to his appointment as chief Executive Officer in 2001.
Thierry is currently Chairman of the Long Term Infrastructure Association (LTIIA), a board member of Fondation des Ponts, a member of the Investment Committee of the European Fund for Strategic Investment, Chairman of Archery for Inclusive Leadership and founder of Africa Infrastructure fellowship program Foundation (AIFP Foundation), founding member of the Sustainable Development Investment Partnership (SDIP) of the World Economic Forum a member of Prince of Wales’ Sustainable Markets Council for the Commonwealth and President of Finance for Tomorrow, the branch of Paris Europlace promoting green and sustainable finance on an international level.
Thierry Déau graduated from Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées engineering School.
*within the meaning of the French « Pacte » law promulgated on May 23, 2019
Neo Gim Huay
Managing Director Sustainability, Temasek Holdings
Gim Huay is the Managing Director for Sustainability of Temasek International Pte Ltd, where she spearheads the sustainability strategy and initiatives. She was a Management Consultant with McKinsey, and served in the Administrative Service of the Singapore Government. Gim Huay is on the Boards of Surbana Jurong, Mandai Park Holdings, Intellectual Property Office of Singapore and the National Library Board. She was selected as an Eisenhower Fellow in 2015, and holds an MBA from Stanford University, a masters in Engineering and Bachelor of Arts from Cambridge University.
Uche Orji
Managing Director / CEO, Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority
Mr. Uche Orji is the Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), one of Nigerian’s premier investment institutions, having been reappointed by the President of Nigeria for another 5-year term in 2017. As pioneer CEO, Uche led the operationalization of the NSIA and has been responsible for driving its growth strategy from inception.
Prior to joining the NSIA as MD & CEO in 2012, he was a Managing Director in the Equities Division of UBS Securities, New York. Before then, Mr. Orji had spent 6 years at JP Morgan Securities, London, from 2001-2006, rising from the post of Vice President to Managing Director within the Equities Division.
Mr. Orji had also worked at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, London from 1998-2001. First joining as an Associate, he rose to become an Executive Director before resigning in 2001. Hitherto, he was Financial Controller at Diamond Bank Plc., Lagos, Nigeria and previously worked at Arthur Andersen & Co. a global firm of auditors and management consultants.
Mr. Orji’s visionary leadership continues to inspire the NSIA towards delivering transformative socio-economic initiatives across key sectors of the Nigerian economy. Under his leadership, the NSIA is today, a highly regarded institution domestically and internationally, serving as a trusted partner and investment advisor to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
Uche studied Chemical Engineering at the University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria, graduating in 1990, and subsequently obtained an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1998.
Sujoy Bose
Managing Director and CEO, NIIF
Sujoy is a business leader with over three decades of extensive experience in emerging markets investing and project finance, covering infrastructure, industrials and services sectors. During his career, he has worked on projects covering over 50 countries across Asia, Africa, Europe, Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean.
He joined NIIF as the MD & CEO in 2016 and is currently based in Mumbai.
Prior to joining NIIF, he spent over 25 years at International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector investment and financing arm of the World Bank Group. During his tenure at IFC, he has held several leadership positions, with his last position being Director and Global Co-Head, Infrastructure and Natural Resources, based in Washington DC, managing a USD 14 billion portfolio.
Prior to this position, he also served as the Chief Investment Officer and Head of IFC’s African Latin American and Caribbean Fund, based in Washington DC, where he managed and led a USD 1 billion regional growth fund to selectively co-invest with IFC.
From 2006-2010, Sujoy led IFC’s Mumbai office and was responsible for managing its growth and building a strong team of 40 investment professionals as an important part of IFC’s goals for localization of its business. He started his career as a Management Associate with Citibank in Chennai in 1991 as part of the Credit Cards business within the Consumer Banking Group.
Sujoy holds a Bachelor’s in Commerce from St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata, India and is an MBA in Finance from Rice University, Houston, Texas.
Michael Barrow
Director General, Private Sector Operations, Asian Development Bank
Michael Barrow is Director General for ADB’s Private Sector Operations Department handling all of the Bank’s private infrastructure and financial institutions investments, lending and guarantees. He joined ADB in July 2003.
Prior to joining ADB, Mr. Barrow worked for the Deutsche Bank group over the course of 15 years in London, Tokyo and Singapore, lastly as both Director of Project Finance and Transportation, with a project finance and PPP focus. He was Senior Vice President in the Structure Finance Department of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. in Singapore handling project financing.
Michael was educated at the Lycee Internationale in Paris, France after which he obtained an MA in Oriental Studies from Oxford University England.
Tony Clamp
Director a.i. Private Sector Facility, GCF
Tony is the Director a.i. of GCF’s Private Sector Facility and has over thirty years’ experience in private equity, project finance, project development, infrastructure investment and impact investment in developed and developing countries. Before joining GCF in 2017, Tony spent twenty years as an investor and project developer in the infrastructure, energy and water sectors in Europe, Africa, Asia and North America. He also spent ten years with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), based in Washington, D.C., where he led private sector investments and projects in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Tony has an undergraduate degree in engineering from the University of Birmingham in England and an MBA from the Cass Business School in London.
Koichiro Oshima
Managing Executive Officer, Head of Financial Solutions Unit, MUFG Bank
Koichiro Oshima is Managing Executive Officer, Head of Financial Solutions Group of MUFG Bank, Ltd.
He is responsible for the oversight of the Bank’s Financial Solutions business globally, which includes sustainability business office, syndications, M&A Finance, project finance and other structured finance products.
Koichiro is also Managing Executive Officer of MUFG and Mitsubishi UFJ Securities Holdings Co., Ltd, where he takes a supervisory role in Capital Markets business outside Japan. He began his career in corporate finance in Osaka Japan in 1989.
Over his 30 years career with MUFG, he has attained extensive experience across the Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB) business with postings in New York, Singapore and Tokyo.
Koichiro holds a Master’s of Business Administration from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and a BS in Engineering from Osaka University.
Youssef Rouissi
Deputy General Manager – in charge of Corporate Investment Banking – Member of the Executive Committee, Attijariwafa bank
Christian Déséglise
Managing Director, Head of Sustainable Finance and Investments, Global Banking and Markets at HSBC
Christian Déséglise is Head of Sustainable Finance and Investments, Global Banking and Markets at HSBC. Previously, he held various positions within HSBC, including Global Head of Central Banks and Global Head of Emerging Markets at HSBC Global Asset Management.
Mr. Déséglise is a member of the One Planet Lab, a high level advisory group set up by President Macron to address challenges related to climate change. He is also a member of the WEF Global Future Council on Development Finance.
Christian has been an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, teaching on Emerging Markets and Sustainable Finance, since 2009. He is also the co-founder and co-director of Columbia University’s BRIC-Lab, which was set up to study the rise of Emerging countries.
Mr. Déséglise has also taught at Sciences Po in Paris and at the Institute for High Studies for Development in Bogotá, Colombia. He has written a book “Le Défi des Pays Emergents: Une Chance pour la France”, which was published in France in April 2012. He has also written numerous articles on Emerging Markets and Sustainable Finance.
Christian is a Graduate from Sciences Po (Paris). He holds a Master’s degree from La Sorbonne Nouvelle (Paris) and a Master of International Affairs from Columbia University in New York.
Faheen Allibhoy
Managing Director, JP Morgan DFI
Faheen Allibhoy is the head of the JP Morgan Development Finance Institution (DFI) and is a seasoned manager with a deep understanding of international investing, emerging markets and the development agenda. She has sector expertise in infrastructure, renewable energy, industrials and private equity funds. Since February 2020, she has headed the JPM DFI and is responsible for developing and executing its strategy as well as maintain institutional partnerships with clients, investors and international organizations.
Prior to JPM, she spent 18 years at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank, where she was responsible for setting strategy, business development, transaction execution and portfolio management. In her role as a Country Manager based in Dakar, Faheen was responsible for IFC’s investments, operations and client relationships in Senegal, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Guinea Bissau and Mauritania. Faheen started her career at Merrill Lynch in Investment Banking. Faheen has a BA in Economics from Wellesley College and an MBA from Harvard Business School. She is a member of the Council of Foreign Relations and the Harvard Business School Advisory Council for Africa.
Jiwoo Choi
Deputy Director a.i., Private Sector Facility, GCF
Navigating the Energy Transition: Maintaining (and accelerating?) momentum in a post COVID-19 environment
Clean physical infrastructure investment in the form of renewable energy assets, storage, and grid modernization along with energy efficiency improvements and E-Mobility are core to the clean energy transition. While energy sectors in developing countries are at a critical juncture of pushing for positive reforms and overdue structural changes, the process of building a low carbon and climate resilient energy future remains often way too complex and deadlocked. The COVID-19 crisis could potentially take the wind out of the sails of private-sector expansion in the energy sector in developing countries. In light of heightened risk aversion and capital scarcity induced by COVID-19 as well as persistently low fossil fuel prices, catalytic funding for energy focused investments will be more important than ever. This session will discuss how innovative blended finance solutions can help in unlocking the current impasse and increase investments to maintain (and accelerate?) the energy transition momentum in a post COVID-19 environment.
Manoj Kohli
Country Head – SoftBank India, SoftBank Group International
Manoj Kohli is the Country Head – SoftBank India, SoftBank Group International and is supporting over 20 portfolio companies of SoftBank Group and SoftBank Vision Fund such as OLA, OYO, Paytm, Lenskart, Grofers, Snapdeal, WeWork, Katerra etc in India. He is responsible for addressing government, regulatory and public policy issues which help these companies to achieve their full business potential.
Earlier since 2015, Manoj Kohli was the Executive Chairman of the SB Energy – SoftBank Group, which plans to develop 20GW renewable energy projects in India and is already developing over 5GW of solar and wind projects in the pipeline.
Previously Manoj was also the CEO and Managing Director of Bharti Airtel and his key contribution being building Airtel as no 3 telco in the world from 2m to over 400m customers. He led Bharti Airtel’s India operations for 100x scale-up before moving to International responsibility for 20 countries and was also responsible for leading the Africa operations which Bharti Airtel acquired in June 2010. Manoj was the Chairman of the Industry Association, COAI which deals with Government resolving all regulatory policy matters.
Overall his 41 years of work experience is divided between the manufacturing, telecom and RE sectors. Manoj has worked in US, Europe, China, Japan and build business in 20 countries in Asia and Africa.
Manoj was the Chairman, Public Policy Committee of GSM Association (GSMA). In the past, he was a Board Member of GSMA in 2008 and reappointed to the GSMA Board in 2012. Manoj is also associated with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) as Chairman of National Task Force for EVs & storage batteries. Prior to this he has held the post of Chairman – Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) National Committee on Telecom & Broadband. He was adjudged “Telecom Man of the Year” in 2000 by Media Transasia and “Telecom Person of the Year” in 2004 & “Lifetime Achievement Award” in 2020 by Voice & Data.
He is a member of the Academic Council of the Faculty of Management Studies and has been awarded the “Best Alumni Award” by Shriram College of Commerce, Delhi University. Manoj is also the distinguished fellow of Asia Society Australia to build long term trade and commerce partnership of both countries.
Manoj holds degrees in Commerce, Law and MBA from Delhi University. Manoj also attended the “Executive Business Program” at the Michigan Business School and the “Advanced Management Program” at the Wharton Business School
Kevin Kanina Kariuki
Vice President, Power, Energy, Climate and Green Growth, AfDB
Dr. Kevin Kanina Kariuki joined the Bank in April, 2020 as the Vice President for Power, Energy, Climate & Green Growth. His role is to oversee the Bank’s efforts towards universal energy access and advancement of climate-resilient and low-carbon development trajectories in Africa.
A Kenyan national with over 30 years of post-qualification experience, Dr. Kariuki is renowned in the power sector for passion and leadership in power systems, renewable energy, energy policy and regulation, utility transformation, infrastructure project finance, and climate resilient sustainable development. He is credited with leading the successful development of over $2 billion of privately financed landmark infrastructure projects across the continent including the $902M 250 MW Bujagali Hydropower Project and the $650M 15,000km state-of-the-art SEACOM submarine cable for communications.
Prior to joining the Bank, Dr. Kariuki served as the head of infrastructure at the Industrial Promotion Services, which is the industrial and infrastructure arm of the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development. Before that, he headed the technical division at the Kenya Electricity regulatory board.
Dr. Kariuki previously served as a non-executive Board Chairman of the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority and as a non-executive board member of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed Consolidated Infrastructure Group.
A Chartered Engineer and a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology, Dr. Kariuki holds a PhD in Power Systems Reliability, and MSc in Electrical Power Engineering both from the University of Manchester; and a BSc in Electrical Engineering from the University of Nairobi.
Gavin Templeton
Head of Sustainable Finance, Green Investment Group (GIG)
Gavin is Head of Sustainable Finance, Green Investment Group, responsible for leading the Climate Finance Advisory function, which works with governments globally as they seek to transition to a low carbon economy. He also works on the development of Green Investment Group’s Green Investment Principles, which sets a benchmark for integrating green impact into investments, having previously led the team that created them.
He supports Macquarie Group CEO, Shemara Wikaramanayake in the wider global green investment movement in her roles on the Global Commission on Adaptation and the Climate Finance Leadership Initiative.
Having worked in the financial and commodity markets for over 25 years, Gavin began his career at BP before moving to Morgan Stanley, Rabobank and VTB Capital. Over his career he has worked in roles covering investment, sales, marketing, business development, origination, trading and analysis.
Gavin is a member of the Founders Committee for the new Green Bank Design Platform which is expected to launch in 2020. He is also a board member of City of London’s Green Finance Initiative and an internationally recognised leader in sustainability. He has worked on the sustainability agenda since the beginning of the European Emissions Trading Scheme and United Nations Clean Development Mechanism, as well as financing renewable energy and emission reduction projects across Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas.
Richard Parry
Founding Partner, EleQtra
With a strong background in project finance and emerging markets, Richard brings over 30 years of experience in the development, structuring and financing of infrastructure assets in emerging markets. He began his career in the US and France and then followed his passion for emerging market finance with the International Finance corporation (IFC), based in Nairobi and Washington DC.
He has worked in Latin America where he was responsible for a wide variety of power transactions including the restructuring of Empresas Municipales de Cali – a power, water and telecommunications company in Colombia. As Head of Syndications and Securities for the IFC he led large transactions with infrastructure companies such as Globo Cabo, Transportadora de Gas del Norte, Vencemos, Aguas Argentinas and a number of power projects in Mexico, Colombia and Brazil.
As one of the founding partners of eleQtra, he also has long experience of working in Africa where he is deeply involved in the development of projects in renewable power, particularly in wind and hydro, and other infrastructure projects across the continent. He has also lived in Africa in his early career and was responsible for launching and managing a business development and investment program for Eastern and Southern Africa which now grown into a successful business for IFC for the long term.
Megumi Muto
Deputy Director, Ogata Sadako Research Institute for Peace and Development, JICA
For the past two years, Dr. Muto oversaw Environment, Climate, and Sustainability at JICA as the Director General of the Global Environment Department (until March 2020). She also represented JICA at the OECD as the Chief Representative in France (2015-2017), taking part in the discussions on Blended Finance. For regional operations, she was responsible for the Philippines and the Pacific (2010- 2015). Before joining JICA in 2008, she has held posts at JBIC and OECF.
Dr. Muto has written extensively in the area of impact evaluation. She also contributed to books with the World Bank and/or the Asian Development Bank on the impact of climate change on Asian coastal mega cities as well as industrial clusters in Africa.
She holds PhD in development economics from GRIPS, MPA from Princeton University and EMBA from HEC Paris.
Wale Shonibare
Director – Energy Financial Solutions, Policy and Regulation, African Development Bank
Wale Shonibare has over three decades experience spanning Asia, Europe, Middle East and Africa in Investment Banking and Consulting. He joined the African Development Bank (AfDB) in 2017 as the inaugural Director of Energy Financial Solutions, Policy and Regulation. This team has established itself as a leading transactions team across Africa, having committed USD 1.4 billion from the Bank and undertaken several Mandated Lead Arranger roles to deliver over 2,051 MW of electricity on projects ranging from solar PV, concentrated solar, hydro-electric dams, gas-fired power plants, battery storage solutions and geothermal energy plants in 13 African countries. The Policy, Regulation and Statistics team has, under his leadership, launched well-acclaimed flagship initiatives to improve the enabling environment for private sector investment in the energy sector: these include the innovative and first ever Electricity Regulatory Index for Africa, and the Africa Energy Portal.
Wale is currently the Bank’s representative on the Board of the Africa Guarantee Fund. Prior to joining the Bank, Wale held various management-level positions in Nigeria, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.
Wale holds a B.Eng (hons) in Civil Engineering from Glasgow University and an MBA from Imperial College, University of London.
Rajeev Mahajan
Manager (Head) – Project Finance, GCF
Investing in Nature: How can we get nature on the private investment agenda for a green recovery?
Solutions based in nature could provide 30% of the required effort to achieve the Paris Agreement goals; and although private investment can play a critical role in unlocking business and financial opportunities, additional efforts from public finance to blend financial resources will be needed to provide a wide array of options, from concessional, reimbursable and non-reimbursable financing, including results-based approaches. GCF can provide concessional and non-concessional financing to help overcome barriers hindering public and private investments, while acknowledging that a mix of financial instruments and an enabling environment are required to mobilize private capital at scale for financing nature conservation and sustainable management of ecosystems. This session will bring together industry champions from finance, corporations and investors to drive practical action to finance nature as a key investable asset class for tackling climate change and to build back better.
Hans Loth
Global Head UN Environment Partnership, Rabobank
Hans Loth is Global Head UN Environment Partnership at Rabobank. He is responsible for building and managing the bank’s new strategic partnership, which is a keystone in the bank’s global environmental work.
Prior to taking up his current position, Hans fulfilled various general management and strategy roles within the Rabobank Group. Most recently, he was Director Strategy & Business Change for Rabobank Indonesia, where he was responsible for developing and implementing a new strategy for the bank in this key Asian market. Prior to that Hans worked with Rabobank Foundation, as well as Rabobank's corporate banking team, through which he developed a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities of global food value chains – “from Farm to Fork”.
Hans started his career an international mergers and acquisitions lawyer at a private law firm. With his eldest daughter off to university, Hans lives with his wife and two sons in Hilversum, the Netherlands.
Simon Dent
Blue Investments Director, Mirova-Althelia Climate Fund
Simon is the Principal of the Sustainable Ocean Fund and leads the investment committee for the fund. The SOF was launched in June 2018 and is making pioneering impact investments in the blue economy. The fund has made more investments in aquaculture, plastic recycling and blue technology as well as into ocean waste infrastructure and aquafeed products.
Simon is a recognised leader in the blue economy space where he is focused on funding investable business models that provide clear long term impact gains for ocean ecosystems as well as creating meaningful economic returns for ocean stakeholders and investors.
He joined Mirova Natural Capital in 2015 and established and led the launch of the Sustainable Ocean Fund which reached its final close in May 2020 at more than $130m. He was previously a Managing Director at BNP Paribas where he worked for the bank for over 12 years in both Europe and North America in environmental finance and commodities. He was instrumental in setting up the bank’s environmental trading desk and led BNP Paribas’ carbon emissions sales and trading business. He has more than 20 years of transactional and senior management experience in commodity and sustainable finance.
He holds a Masters in Corporate and International Finance from Durham University and a MA in Business & Economics from Edinburgh University. Simon grew up in New Zealand, loves the ocean and is a qualified diver and yachtsman.
Katherine Stodulka
Director of Blended Finance Taskforce and Sustainable Finance, SYSTEMIQ
Katherine is the Director of the Blended Finance Taskforce at SYSTEMIQ – an impact investment and advisory firm focused on system change and sustainability. The Blended Finance Taskforce is global coalition of leaders from the public and private sector which aims to mobilise capital for the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for people and planet.
The Taskforce works with financial institutions to future-proof portfolios, to reduce transaction costs by connecting investors to high-impact projects and to develop, launch and scale innovative blended finance vehicles. It helps build capacity in mission-critical sectors and geographies to accelerate regenerative business models and green the financial system. And the Taskforce convenes leaders from business, finance, policy and development to overcome major investment barriers for the SDGs, partnering with new platforms to accelerate the transition to a more sustainable real economy with a focus on clean energy, the circular economy and nature-based solutions.
Katherine is a co-founder of Indonesia’s Tri Hita Karana Forum for Sustainable Development which has mobilised over $10bn for the SDGs. She is an Advisory Board Member to the Responsible Consumer Fund, is an advisor to sustainable design firm Studio 8 FOLD and worked closely to help launch IMAGINE and the Make My Money Matter campaign for sustainable pensions.
Katherine has co-authored a number of flagship reports on financing the SDGs including “Better Finance, Better World,” “Growing Better: Critical Transitions for Sustainable Food and Land Use Systems” and “Infra 3.0”. Before joining SYSTEMIQ, Katherine was a lawyer in Australia and the UK. She specialised in project finance and M&A, financing renewable energy projects and other major infrastructure. Katherine received First Class Honours in Law / Commerce from the University of Queensland where she specialised in corporate finance and international human rights law.
Martin Berg
Partner, Pollination
Martin is a Partner at Pollination, a specialist climate change advisory and investment firm, accelerating the transition to a net zero, climate resilient future. His focus at Pollination is to build out investment ideas for environmental asset classes such as natural capital and carbon markets. He joined Pollination from the European Investment Bank (EIB) where he led investments into new sectors including natural capital and the blue economy, developing new business models and blended finance solutions for more developed low carbon sectors, such as energy efficiency and renewable energy. He also supervised the Natural Capital Financing Facility, a pioneering joint EIB and European Commission initiative, and raised over EUR 2 billion for carbon, capture and storage and innovative renewable energy demonstration projects as part of the NER300 initiative. He served on the Board of Directors for the Green for Growth Fund in Luxembourg and was Vice President at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in London responsible for carbon finance. Martin also worked for the environmental investment firm RNK Capital in New York, the OECD Climate Change Unit in Paris and started his career at the UNFCCC in Bonn.
Michael Schlup
Partner and Managing Director, Sail Ventures
Michael is a Partner and Managing Director at Sail Ventures. He oversees the Impact and Environmental and Social Risk activities and serves on Sail’s internal Investment
Committee. He leads SAIL’s stakeholder engagement and public sector investor relations.
Michael has broad supply chain experience in global corporates and has been involved in various environmental management functions. At global commodity trader Bunge Ltd. he was Head of Business Development for a USD 60 million carbon hedge fund and Regional Manager Africa for the Environmental Markets team. He also served as Global Partnerships Coordinator for Sustainability at Barry Callebaut, the largest cocoa and chocolate company globally.
Michael is the founder and long-term director of the Gold Standard, a carbon project certification scheme established under the auspices of WWF and today a leading global brand to certify and maximise impact. Michael continues to serve as the Chair of the Board of Directors of Gold Standard’s spin-off SustainCERT, Gold Standard’s official certification body.
Michael is a trained geographer and has a degree in Environmental Management and Policy.
Veronica Galmez
Forest and Land Use Specialist, GCF
Catalysing Market Mechanisms: Carbon pricing as a tool to finance the green and just recovery
Whilst the full repercussions of COVID-19 on the international effort to curb greenhouse gas emissions will not be known for some time, there is continued underlying momentum around the introduction and expansion of carbon pricing initiatives globally. Carbon pricing instruments, whether in the form of cap-and-trade frameworks or carbon taxes, can offer a tool to help support climate action, build resilience, and catalyze private investments at scale in energy and resource efficiency, electricity generation from renewables, low-carbon transportation, and the preservation of natural capital. As green stimulus packages are introduced by governments around the world to help economies respond to the current crisis, careful implementation of carbon pricing in combination with reductions in fossil fuel subsidies could offer an opportune and effective approach to support a green and just recovery in many developing countries. This session will explore innovative ways in which the GCF can provide risk mitigation instruments to grow investor interest in scaling up carbon pricing initiatives and market-based mechanisms to speed up a climate resilient economic recovery and a longer-term transition to low-carbon development pathways.
Renat Heuberger
CEO, South Pole
Renat is a pioneer and social entrepreneur in the field of sustainability, climate change and renewable energies, where he is engaged since 1999. As a founding partner and CEO of South Pole, he coordinated the set-up of the company’s global sustainability finance business. Before founding South Pole, Renat was co-founder and CEO of the myclimate foundation, one of the world’s first players on the voluntary carbon markets.
Renat has been elected “Social Entrepreneur of Switzerland” by the World Economic Forum’s Schwab Foundation, and he serves as a member of the Expert Network of the WEF. He is a member of the Innovation Council of InnoSuisse, board member of Climate-KIC, Board member of M-Power, and member of the advisory board of Impact HUB Zurich.
Renat holds a master degree in environmental sciences from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and has completed executive education programs at INSEAD and the Harvard Kennedy School (HKS).
Margaret-Ann Splawn
Executive Director, Climate Markets & Investment Association
Margaret-Ann Splawn is the Executive Director of the non-profit Climate Markets & Investment Association (CMIA), a membership organization with the mission to stimulate a shift in the direction and scale of private and public financial flows into investments which are consistent with the objectives of the Paris Agreement. Margaret-Ann is the Active Private Sector Observer at the GCF representing the developed nations constituency and a member of the Energy, Sustainability & Climate task force of the B20, the official business dialogue with the G20.
Before joining CMIA Margaret-Ann provided carbon origination, advisory, risk management and procurement services to compliance entities with carbon exposure in the EU ETS. Margaret-Ann has over twenty years experience in financial markets trading at a number of leading brokerage firms in bonds, interest rate swaps & options and credit default swaps. She holds a MSc in Environmental Policy and Regulation from the London School of Economics and is a Fellow at the Royal Geographical Society.
Jan-Willem van de Ven
Head Climate Finance and Climate Markets, EBRD
Jan-Willem van de Ven joined the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in August 2003. As Head of Climate Finance and Carbon Markets his role covers strategic business development, partnerships with the international climate funds (CTF, GEF and GCF), relationship management with international bodies (e.g. UNFCCC / EU), and carbon market development work. His work is at the frontier of climate finance and carbon markets, and seeks to enable and scale-up climate action.
He plays an active role in the international policy dialogue for carbon markets, climate finance and the promotion of sustainable investments. He is a member of the Senior Climate Advisors of the joint MDB working group on climate change, a member of the Katowice Committee of Experts on the Impacts of the Implementation of Response Measures and member of the Consultative Group of the Task Force on Scaling Voluntary Carbon Markets.
Jan-Willem has over twenty-five years of experience in the development of sustainable energy projects from Central America to Eastern Europe. The projects structured under his leadership range from industrial energy efficiency, green cities, built environment, renewable energy and climate resilience. Prior to EBRD he worked as Innovation Manager with Dutch utility company Essent. He has a M.Sc degree in Technology & Society International Technological Development Science from the Eindhoven University of Technology and a B.Eng in Business Engineering from the Eindhoven Higher Technical School.
Scobie Mackay
Managing Director, Commodities & Global Markets (CGM) Business, Macquarie
Scobie Mackay is a Managing Director within the Commodities & Global Markets (CGM) Business at Macquarie, based in Houston. He joined Macquarie in 2015 in Singapore in the Commodities Markets & Finance team looking at structured physical commodity and commodity-linked financing transactions before moving to lead the Supply Chains Solutions team in Houston in early 2017. Prior to joining Macquarie Scobie headed the Commodity Traders & Agribusiness Trade Finance Team for Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore. Scobie had been a lawyer before joining Standard Chartered Bank in 2010, holding positions with Norton Rose Fulbright in their Paris office and, earlier, the Australian Federal Government in both international and domestic law roles. Scobie is an admitted solicitor in both England and Wales and Australia and holds Master of Laws (International Law), LLB(Hon) and BSc degrees from the Australian National University and is currently an Executive MBA candidate at the University of Oxford.
Andreas Lunding
Manager Climate Markets, GCF
Breakthrough climate innovations and the role of technology transfer for Developing Countries
Technology solutions and innovations are crucial for implementing the Paris Agreement and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Tech companies have the potential to turn game changing technologies into scalable and transformative solutions, yet they often struggle to find capital to grow, bring their products to market or expand existing technologies to new sectors, geographies, and users, particularly in developing countries. As governments put in place targeted policies and incentives to finance a green and resilient recovery, there exists an unparalleled opportunity to catalyse private investments in early and growth stage high-impact climate technologies and innovations in both adaptation and mitigation. Knowing that the innovation process in different countries and economic sectors sometimes faces similar challenges, this session aims to discuss effective solutions as well as ways to form public-private partnerships to facilitate the rapid and widespread transfer and deployment of transformational climate innovations and technologies in line with GCF priorities and business model.
Bunmi Adekore
Partner, Breakthrough Energy Ventures
Jay Koh
Co-Founder & Managing Director, Lightsmith Group
Jay Koh is co-founder & Managing Director of The Lightsmith Group. Mr. Koh has over 20 years of experience in investing and public policy in the public and private sectors.
Prior to co-founding Lightsmith in 2016, Mr. Koh was a Managing Director and Partner of Siguler Guff, a global alternative investment firm with over $10 billion under management. Prior to joining Siguler Guff in 2012, Mr. Koh was the Head of Investment Funds and Chief Investment Strategist at the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC). In this role, Mr. Koh led the agency’s $2.6 billion active emerging markets private equity program. From 2007 to 2009, Mr. Koh led private equity and illiquid investing for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) at R3 Capital, formerly the Global Principal Strategies Division of Lehman Brothers. Previously, Mr. Koh focused on direct growth equity investing as a Principal at The Carlyle Group, where he worked from 2000 to 2007 and also from 1993 to 1995. From 1998 to 2000, he served as a law clerk to Justice David H. Souter, United States Supreme Court, and to Judge Michael Boudin, United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.
Mr. Koh serves on the Private Sector Advisory Group to the UN Green Climate Fund, the Board of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), and the advisory committee to the NY Green Bank. He is also Founder & Chair of the Global Adaptation & Resilience Investment Working Group (GARI), a private investor-led initiative that was launched at Paris COP21 and is an official partner of the UN Secretary General’s A2R Climate Resilience Initiative.
Mr. Koh serves as an adjunct professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He holds an A.B. magna cum laude in Economics from Harvard College, a master’s degree in Management from Oxford University and a J.D. from Yale Law School.
Merrick Kerr
Chief Commercial Officer, Energy Vault
Paul Needham
Co-Founder Positive, Capital Partners
Paul is a Fintech and Cleantech serial entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience as CEO and board member, leading companies from inception to successful exits. He currently serves as board member and senior advisor to energy access enterprises, financing facilities and social impact investment funds that are accelerating the energy transition. Paul cofounded and led Simpa Networks, the leading rural rooftop solar leasing company in India. Simpa was acquired by ENGIE in November 2018. He currently co-chairs the Taskforce for Distributed Renewable Energy Certification.
Sokjin Chang
Director of International Cooperation, Born2Global
Sokjin Chang is the Director of International Cooperation at Born2Global Centre, the Korean government’s global startup incubation and acceleration agency under the Ministry of Science and ICT. Prior to his current role, he worked primarily in the Korean government sector, including the former Ministry of Planning and Budget, Ministry of Economy and Finance, and Presidential Council on National Competitiveness. He also served as the Advisor to the Chairman of Korea Development Bank, and has experience in global investment fund management. His career has been focused on international cooperation, development assistance, and capacity building for developing economies. Having studied in Argentina, Malaysia and Korea, he holds a Master’s degree in Public Adminsitration from Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Korea.
Andrei Chicherin
Head of Innovation, Technology Transfer and Co-Funding Platforms, GCF
Andrei Chicherin is leading the Innovation, Technology Transfer and Co-Funding Platforms team of the Private Sector Facility. He joined Green Climate Fund in 2017. Prior to GCF he had worked for over 18 years as an investment and finance professional with regional authorities, private compa-nies and international organizations in countries spreading across Eastern Europe, Asia and Africa.
He has extensive investment banking and financial advisory experience gained at major financial institutions in Russia, and several years of legal practice with the Moscow office of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP.
Andrei holds an MBA in Finance from Columbia Business School and a degree in law (with Honors) from the Moscow State University.
Javier Manzanares
Deputy Executive Director, GCF