The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has caused severe disruptions and an economic shock not seen since World War II or the Great Depression.
This debate will have our panel of leading experts trouble-shoot solutions to the problems of our age so that, despite the context, sustainable development efforts are kept afloat and our environment is protected.
According to the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) June forecast, the global economy is set to shrink by almost five percent this year, with growth in developing economies projected to decrease by three percent. This has caused widespread unemployment with the UN Labor Organization (ILO) estimating a 14 percent drop in global working hours, equivalent to the loss of roughly 400 million full-time jobs.
A struggling economy affects credit quality in certain sectors and geographies, making domestic resource mobilization a serious challenge. One estimate suggests that inflows of external private finance to Official Development Assistance (ODA) in eligible countries are projected to drop by US$ 700 billion compared to 2019 levels. Furthermore, limited resources demand prioritization, causing negative impacts on public and private spending on low carbon Research and Development (R&D). The COVID-19 crisis has inevitably worsened the financing gap in developing countries thereby risking decades of progress made towards sustainable development. Join the dialogue!
Accelerating the transition to renewable energy is essential if we are to achieve a green recovery, however, the current situation has aggravated the challenges in scaling-up clean energy investment and deployment. BloombergNEF reports that new investments in clean energy around the world have decreased significantly from nearly US$ 90 billion in the last quarter of 2019 to around US$ 65 billion in the first quarter of 2020. While second quarter investments are projected to, reach above US$ 70 billion, challenges and uncertainties persist. COVID-19 recovery policies offer an unparalleled opportunity to build back clean, green and better. A robust green recovery strategy must focus on three priority areas: 1) expanding the availability of capital; 2) creating jobs; and, 3) fostering innovation. The webinar will focus on key policy priorities to amplify clean energy investments in a post-COVID world.
The Climate Investment Funds (CIF) was established in 2008 to mobilize investments for low carbon, climate resilient development in middle income and developing countries. The CIF Technical Assistance Facility (CIF-TAF) was set up with the goal of strengthening (energy and financial) policy and regulatory framework, building capacity of key stakeholders, and enabling transactions through the design of innovative tools, business models etc. with the goal of accelerating clean energy investments.
Moderator Abhishek Bhaskar, Senior Energy Specialist, Climate Investment Funds (CIF)
8:05 am "An unprecedented crisis, an unparalleled opportunity" Peter Martin, Principal Economist, Wood Mackenzie
8:15 am "The Indian summer" Sachin Chaturvedi, Director General, Director General, Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS)
8:25 am "Making capital flow again" Satheesh Sundararajan, Lead Infrastructure Financing Specialist, the World Bank Group (WBG)
8:35 am "It’s all about jobs" Elizabeth Press, Director of Planning and Program Support,International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)
8:45 am "That new idea" Simon Bennett, Technology Analyst, International Energy Agency (IEA)
8:55 am "Notes from the CIF learning lab" Joe Dickman, Senior Evaluation and Learning Specialist, CIF
9:05 am Q&A
9:25 am Closing
SPEAKERS
Satheesh Sundararajan
Lead Infrastructure Financing Specialist the World Bank Group (WBG)
Satheesh is a specialist in the Infrastructure Finance, Public Private Partnerships & Guarantees global practice focusing on mobilizing long-term financing for infrastructure projects. He has worked on different World Bank operations across Africa and Latin American in the energy and transport sectors, providing technical assistance on enabling policy and regulatory frameworks, financial structuring, and credit enhancements.
Sachin Chaturvedi
Director General Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS)
Sachin is currently Director General at the Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS), a New Delhi-based Think-Tank. He works on issues related to development economics, involving development finance, SDGs and South-South Cooperation, apart from trade, investment and innovation linkages with special focus on WTO. He is also Member, Board of Governors, Reserve Bank of India. He has been part of several important initiatives of the Government of India and is considered one of the foremost commentators on India’s external sector economic engagements and partnerships.
Elizabeth Press
Director of Planning and Programme Support IRENA
Elizabeth leads the development of International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)’s work on programme and strategic documents, reporting to governing bodies. She oversees the diversification of the Agency’s resource base to ensure alignment with the its’ mandate and strategic direction. As the focal point in Europe, she also leads IRENA’s climate activities, and represents the Agency in global or thematic entities and initiatives.
Simon Bennett
Technology AnalystInternational Energy Agency
Simon is a technology analyst in the International Energy Agency's Sustainable Technology and Outlooks Directorate, where he leads work on energy technology innovation policy and investment. In 2019, he was a lead author of the IEA report: “The Future of Hydrogen”.
Peter Martin
Principal EconomistWood Mackenzie
Peter is responsible for producing Wood Mackenzie’s macroeconomic outlook 2050. He is experienced in forecasting key macroeconomic metrics: Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Industrial Production, fx, and inflation. He regularly develops macroeconomic scenarios and sensitivity analysis, such as COVID-19 and the European banking crisis.
Joe Dickman
Senior Evaluation and Learning SpecialistCIF
Joe leads the CIF Evaluation and Learning Initiative, managing a large portfolio of studies and learning activities covering key topics in climate finance and drawing upon CIF experience in clean energy, energy access, sustainable forestry and climate resilience.
Abhishek Bhaskar
Senior Energy SpecialistCIF
Abhishek Bhaskar is a Senior Energy Specialist at the Climate Investment Funds. He is the Team Lead of CIF Technical Assistance Facility focusing on clean energy investments. With previous jobs at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the United Nation’s Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the World Bank, Abhishek has an over a decade of clean energy/ climate finance experience working on green bonds, compliance grade carbon assets, climate metrics and regulatory frameworks.