COP26 Side Event: Operationalizing Paris Alignment

Aligning financial flows with the Paris Agreement is becoming the new standard for the financial community, building on continuous commitments from Public Development Banks (PDBs) such as the International Development Finance Club (IDFC) and the group of Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) in 2017, but also from private banks. At the first edition of the Finance in Common Summit in 2020, PDBs committed to align with the Paris Agreement, enlarging the initial commitment taken by IDFC, MDBs and EDFIs. On the road to a full operationalization of this concept, this side event will provide the opportunity to report on progress made so far, good practices, and remaining challenges. The Institute for Climate Economics (I4CE) and the NewClimate Institute will present their framework for IDFC members to operationalize their commitments. In addition, Germanwatch, NewClimate Institute and the World Resources Institute (WRI) will present an approach on aligning financial intermediaries with the Paris Agreement. This side event will also highlight the contribution that PDBs presented during the second edition of the FiC Summit in October 2021 and how they intend to support successful outcomes at COP26.

Speakers

• Keynote speech, Paul Watkinson, Senior Adviser to the French Delegation
• Aligning with the Paris Agreement in practice: IDFC Operationalization Framework, Alice Pauthier, Project Manager, I4CE
• Aligning financial intermediaries with the Paris Agreement, Aki Kachi, Senior Climate Policy Analyst, NewClimate Institute (presenting as part of the research consortium of Germanwatch, NewClimate Institute and WRI)
• Panel discussion: How are IDFC members operationalising Paris Alignment
• Moderator: Alexandra Goritz, Germanwatch
  • François-Xavier Duporge, Deputy Head of the Climate Unit, French Development Agency (AFD)
  • Bruno Aranha, Managing Director of the Socioenvironmental and Productive Sector Credit Division, Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (BNDES)
  • Alexander von Kap-Herr, Senior Sector Economist Climate Change, Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW)
  • Nomsa Zondi, Climate Change Specialist at Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA)