UNEP FI Global Roundtable 2024 – Agenda

Opening keynote
Room D

• Professor Paul Ekins, Professor of Resources and Environmental Policy, UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources

PLENARY PANEL

Supporting global sustainability ambition through policy and regulation
Room D

• Geetu Joshi, Advisor, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance of the Government of India
• Helena Viñes Fiestas, Co-Chair, Taskforce on Net Zero Policy and Chair, EU Platform on Sustainable Finance
• Irene Heemskerk, Head of the Climate Change Centre, European Central Bank
• Krishnan Sharma, Principal Economic Affairs Adviser, Financing for Sustainable Development Office, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations (UN DESA)
• Philippe Lionnet, Envoy for Sustainable Finance and Co-Head of the Policy Issues & International Relations unit, State Secretariat for International Finance (SIF), Swiss Federal Department of Finance
• Moderator: Laura Canas da Costa, Global Policy Co-Lead, UNEP FI

FIRESIDE CHAT

Aligning professional practice with sustainability goals
Room D

• Puleng Ndjwili-Potele, Co-Lead, Banking, UNEP FI
• Simon Thompson, Managing Director, Global Capacity Building Coalition (GCBC)
• Moderator: Mustafa Chaudhry, Co-Lead, Communications, UNEP FI

PLENARY PANEL

Driving 1.5 ambition through finance
Room D

• Marc Kahn, Chief Strategy & Sustainability Officer, Investec Group
• Maria Simonson, Acting Head of Client Relationship Management, Head of Sustainability, Swedish Export Credit Corporation (SEK)
• Masaaki Iwabuchi, General Manager, Finance & Investment Planning Department, Nippon Life Insurance Company
• Sue Reid, Climate Finance Advisor to Christiana Figueres, Global Optimism
• Moderator: Remco Fischer, Climate Lead, UNEP FI

FIRESIDE CHAT

Risk and impact: Both sides of the same coin
Room D

• Christos Megalou, CEO, Piraeus Bank 
• Sander Biesma, CEO, NN Re
• Moderator: Careen Abb, SDGs and Impact Lead, UNEP FI

CASE STUDY

Tracking the Financial Sectors’ Transition Performance Using the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment
Room D

• Warrick Fuchsloch, Senior Client Engagement Specialist, S&P Global Sustainable1

DEEP DIVE SESSION 9

Scaling finance for adaptation
Room D

• Denisse Gonzalez, Climate Change Specialist, Produbanco 
• Tomás Soley Pérez, General Superintendent, General Superintendence of Insurance of Costa Rica (SUGESE) 
• Vanessa Doger de Spéville, Head, Sustainability, Reputation & Engagement, Mauritius Commercial Bank (MCB)
• Moderator: Amal-Lee Amin, Managing Director and Head of Climate, Diversity and Advisory, British International Investment 

DEEP DIVE SESSION 10

Overcoming data challenges in sustainable finance
Room C

• Angélica Afanador, Director, Guidehouse and Executive Director, Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF)
• Hans Biemans, Head of Sustainable Markets, ING 
• Stefan Malchow, Head of Sales, ESG Solutions, SAP Fioneer
• Xavier Demeulenaere, Research and Analysis Associate Director, S&P Global Mobility
• Moderator: Daniel Bouzas, Europe Regional Lead, UNEP FI

DEEP DIVE SESSION 11

Transition finance: Opportunities and challenges
Room D

• Joseph Jacobelli, Advisory Group Expert, ESCAP (FET Project), and Managing Partner, Bougie Impact Capital
• Linda Freiner, Chief Sustainability Officer, Zurich Insurance Group 
• Tomo Ishikawa, Chief Regulatory Engagement Officer, MUFG 
• Udo Riese, Global Head of Sustainable Investing, Allianz Investment Management 
• Vincent Damas, Chief Sustainability Officer, Covéa Group
• Moderator: Jesica Lelynn Andrews, Head of Climate Accountability, UNEP FI

DEEP DIVE SESSION 12

Public and private cooperation for sustainable development
Room C

Introductory remarks by Alvaro Lario, President of the International Fund of Agricultural Development (IFAD)

Panellists

• Massamba Thioye, Project Executive, UN Climate Change Global Innovation Hub, UNFCCC secretariat
• Nicolas Picchiottino, Head of Public Development Banks, AFD & Secretary General, IDFC
• Quyen Nguyen, Senior Climate Finance Specialist, Global Product Lead, IFC
• Shanning Dong, General Manager, Green Finance Department, Bank of Jiangsu
• Moderator: Glenn Hodes, Senior adviser on SDG investment, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA)

DEEP DIVE SESSION 13

Closing the gender gap: the role of banks (co-hosted with UN Women)
Room D

Opening remarks:

• Sofia Calltorp, Director, UN Women Geneva Office and Chief of Humanitarian Action

Panellists:

• Dawn Bailey, Head of Financial Wellbeing, Bank of Ireland
• Verónica Gavilanes Véjar, Deputy General Manager, BancoSol
• Wendy Teleki, Head of the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (WE-FI), the World Bank
• Co- Moderator: Alexandra Lockyer, Senior Sustainable Finance Analyst, UN Women 
• Co- Moderator: Laura Diaz, Financial Health &. Inclusion Lead, Banking, UNEP FI

DEEP DIVE SESSION 14 – Insurance

Unlocking the potential of insurance for nature positive Room C

• Amandine Favier, Head of Sustainable Finance, WWF Switzerland
• Caroline Wakesho Sonje, ESG Specialist, ICEA Lion
• Emily McKenzie, Technical Director, TNFD
• Thomas Viegas, Nature Strategy Lead, Aviva
• Moderator: Butch Bacani, Head of Insurance, UNEP FI

START OF PRB SESSIONS

Introductory remarks by Dimitrios Dimopoulos
Head of ESG, Piraeus Financial Holdings & Co-chair, UNEP FI Banking Board

DEEP DIVE SESSION 16 – Insurance

Scaling up climate action in the insurance industry
Room C

• Cirhan Truswell, Director, Climate Science, Sun Life
• Esther Egeter, Sustainability Manager, a.s.r.
• João Mestre, Sustainability Director, Fidelidade 
• Moderator: Butch Bacani, Head of Insurance, UNEP FI

DEEP DIVE SESSION 15 – PRB

Effective client engagement: Strategies for banks to foster sustainable finance
Room D

• Christine Würfel, Head of Group ESG & Sustainability Management, Raiffeisen Bank International AG (RBI)
• Lara de Mesa, Global Head of Sustainability, Santander 
• Shargiil Bashir, Chief Sustainability Officer and Executive Vice President, First Abu Dhabi Bank 
• Susan Barron, Managing Director and Global Co-Head of the Sustainable Banking Group, Barclays
• Moderator: Johanna Dichtl, Implementation Guidance Lead, Banking, UNEP FI

DEEP DIVE SESSION 17 – PRB

Engaging clients on social issues: Strategies
for banks to drive positive impact 
Room D

• Abimbola Agbejule, Head, Corporate Sustainability, Wema Bank
• Amanda Zillig, Human Rights Lead, ING
• Anna Falth, Global Head of the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs), UN Women
• Jonathan Fowlie, Chief External Relations Officer and Head of Impact Strategy, Vancity
• Yasmine Pagni, Head of Social Policy Unit, Environment, Climate and Social Office (ECSO), Projects Directorate (PJ), European Investment Bank (EIB)
• Moderator: Joana Pedro, Social Lead, UNEP FI

DEEP DIVE SESSION 18 – insurance

17:05 – 17:45CET
V20: Insuring the most vulnerable
Room C

• Philip Lopokoiyit, CEO, ICEA LION Holdings and ICEA LION General Insurance
• Brandon Mathews, Global Coordinator, V20 Sustainable Insurance Facility
• Moderator: Butch Bacani, Head of Insurance, UNEP FI

DEEP DIVE SESSION 19 – insurance

17:45 – 18:15 CET
Scaling Sustainable Insurance for Africa’s Green Growth and Resilience
Room C

Welcome and Introduction to the Nairobi Declaration on Sustainable Insurance and the purpose of the session:

• Kelvin Massingham – Director, Risk and Resilience, FSD Africa

Panel:

• Emeka Akwiwu, Executive Director, Continental Reinsurance
• Patty Karuaihe-Martin, Managing Director, Namibre, and NDSI Vice Chair
• Phillip Lopokoiyit, Group CEO, ICEA Lion, and NDSI Chair
• Moderator: Ange Chitate, Africa Risk Capacity Ltd , Chief Operating Officer

COCKTAIL RECEPTION

GRT Closing: Frontiers Planet Prize 
Location: The Village

Sponsored by Frontiers Research Foundation

19:45

End of UNEP FI Global Roundtable 2024

The objective of this consultation session will be to:

1. Engage delegates from the UNEP-FI Global Roundtable and Building Bridges Summit, as well as other stakeholders in the Geneva community, in an interactive dialogue to get feedback on key recommendations and initiatives that can catalyze private finance and investment for the SDGs.
2. Discuss the role of the private sector in the UN’s 4th International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4), International Business Forum and the SDG Fair;

Specifically, the UN-led session will explore the following topics: (a) barriers to scaling up private finance and investment for sustainable development; (b) possible policy and regulatory reforms to encourage the provision of long-term finance and investment in sustainable development; (c) ways to enhance the effectiveness of blended finance approaches to scale up SDG-aligned investment in emerging markets; significant recommendations and initiatives that could come out of the 4^th International Conference on Financing for Development.

• Karen Hitschke CEO of Building Bridges
• Layalee Ramahi, North America Regional Lead, UNEP-FI
• Glenn Hodes, Interregional Adviser, FSDO/DESA
• Franco Piza, Head of Sustainability, Bancolombia (tbc)
• Margarita Pirovska, Director of Policy, PRI
• Maria Caterina Migliorero, Economic Affairs Officer, FSDO/DESA

The session is hosted by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, alongside UNEP FI’s Global Roundtable.

Nature Transition Planning Roundtable                                                                                                                  Location: Room Lausanne, Centre de Conference de Varembe (CCV) (across the GRT and Building Bridges Venue)         

This session has limited capacity, and attendance will be granted on a first-come, first-served basis. To secure your seat, see contact below.

Nature transition planning is an emergent concept that offers a coherent, structured way to manage an organisation’s responses and contributions to transition set out by the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF).

During this rountable we will request participants to reflect on the concepts presented by WWF, TNFD and UNEP FI. The insights gathered will be instrumental in refining these approaches, and identifying actionable steps on nature transition planning, that can be implemented across the financial sector.

Objectives:

• Share how nature transition plans can be developed by financial Institutions
• Understand how a financial institution can assess a transition plan of clients
• Gather feedback on the proposed categories of transition financing strategies that can be deployed in a financial institutions’ response and contribution to the transition implied by the GBF

The session is hosted by UNEP FI, WWF, and The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), and held alongside UNEP FI’s Global Roundtable.

This session has limited capacity, and attendance will be granted on a first-come, first-served basis. To secure your seat, please contact: npoolen@wwfint.org