COP29 and International Energy Agency hold Energy Transition Dialogue in iconic Mansion House
The COP29 Presidency and the International Energy Agency (IEA), in partnership with the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the City of London Corporation, on 24th June, convened international energy, climate and financial services leaders for a High-Level Energy Transition Dialogue ahead of the COP29 climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan.
The Dialogue, which was co-chaired by COP29 President-Designate Mukhtar Babayev and IEA Executive Director Dr Fatih Birol, was the second in a series aimed at building international consensus around pathways to drive energy sector emissions to net zero – expanding on the success of the series co-chaired last year by the IEA and the United Arab Emirates’ COP28 Presidency.
Against the backdrop of London Climate Action Week, more than 50 energy and financial services leaders gathered in the Mansion House, the historic centre of London’s financial district, to discuss the crucial role of private sector finance to advance the pledges made at COP28.
Participants included African Union Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy Amani Abou-Zeid; Ireland Minister for Transport, Climate, Environment & Communications Eamon Ryan, Germany State Secretary and Special Envoy for International Climate Action Jennifer Morgan; United Arab Emirates Director General of COP28 Majid Al-Suwaidi; COP26 President Alok Sharma; France Climate Envoy Kevin Magron; Prudential Chair, Shriti Vadera; The Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC) CEO, Stephanie Pfeifer and Sustainable Energy For All CEO, Damilola Ogunbiyi.
The Dialogue also convened climate envoys and ministerial level representatives from Italy, Kazakhstan, The Netherlands, and Türkiye.
During the discussion, participants outlined existing challenges around financing the energy transition goals agreed at COP28, particularly for emerging markets and developing economies. These include access to capital and debt financing, as well as the need for a stronger pipeline of bankable clean energy investment projects that offer competitive returns. There was also a clear layout of the promising opportunities of the energy transition and how these can be fully unlocked globally – including the enhanced role for international and development finance institutions to catalyse private sector investment and supporting emerging and developing economies to develop clear policies that drive rapid energy transitions.
