From left to right: Olga Algayerova, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Europe, Vera Songwe, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa, Alicia Barcena, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, Rosa Malango, Director, Regional Commissions New York Office and Rola Dashti, Executive Secretary, of the Economic and Social Commission of Western Asia
The UN Regional Commissions organized a climate change event on the sidelines of the COP 26, 4 November 2021.
Entitled, "Bridging the Gap in Climate Finance: Perspectives and Key Initiatives by the UN Regional Commissions", the Executive Secretaries spoke, highlights of which are as follows:
Rola Dashti, Executive Secretary, of the Economic and Social Commission of Western Asia, noted that adaptation is a priority for Arab region and its initiatives: Climate Finance Mobilization and access Strategy, Debt Swap/Donor Nexus Initiative, Circular Carbon Economy and Small-Scale Renewable Energy Applications.
Olga Algayerova, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Europe, highlighted initiatives to bridge the gap in environmental performance reviews in 25 countries, High-Performance Green Buildings, climate-smart cities as well as carbon capture.
Vera Songwe, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa, highlighted ECA initiatives, such as nature-based solutions for job creation, SDG7 initiative, advocacy on just transitions and stressed the need for carbon markets transparency
Alicia Barcena, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, shared initiatives on climate finance with addressing inequality at the core: Debt for Climate Adaptation Swap; Big Environmental Push and Greening the Financial System.
Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, featured ESCAP's ongoing initiatives to narrow the climate finance gap: Debt-for-Climate Swaps for the Pacific SIDS, carbon pricing simulation tool, sustainable finance for South-East Asian bankers.
Rosa Malango, Director, Regional Commissions New York Office, closed out the event highlighting promising initiatives to bridge the gap in climate finance and for tapping local, indigenous knowledge for a climate-safe future