Newsletter 1 / 2024

At COP28 in Dubai, we held our Business & Climate event: “Leveraging Business Engagement to Accelerate Climate Action,” on December 3rd at Goals House. It gathered high-level representatives from businesses and governments, women and men from the Global North and South, joining forces to achieve enhanced and quicker climate action.

The roundtable discussion was co-moderated by Dr. Kai Monheim and Archie Young, with impactful contributions from Her Highness Sheikha Shamma, President and CEO of the UAE Independent Climate Change Accelerators; H.E. Franz Tattenbach, Environment Minister of Costa Rica; H.E. Norbert Gorißen, Deputy Special Envoy for International Climate Action of Germany; H.E. Patricia Espinosa, CEO of OnePoint5 and former UNFCCC Executive Secretary; Peter Bakker, CEO of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development; María Mendiluce, CEO of We Mean Business Coalition; Phuti Mahanyele-Dabengwa, CEO of Naspers; Rich Lesser, CEO of BCG; Bill Anderson, CEO of BAYER; Shawn Maher, EY Global Vice Chair; Arlo Brady, CEO of FREUDS among other relevant participants. 

Highlighting the critical role of businesses in tackling climate change and considering business engagement at the annual climate conferences (COPs) has increased, the Centre for Multilateral Negotiations started a research project to explore in detail how we can leverage business better for enhanced climate action. 

The first stage of the work – which was discussed in Dubai during the roundtable – focused on strengthening engagement and the connective tissue between business and the intergovernmental process at COPs. The next phase of the work in 2024 will broaden how businesses and governments can leverage their mutual positive value beyond the annual COPs and deepen collaboration for implementation. 

In November, we held our Endgame Facilitation Workshop for the incoming COP28 President, CEO, and its leadership team in Abu Dhabi; with this, we concluded our comprehensive support throughout the year to the United Arab Emirates Climate Negotiation team. 

We brought together numerous international experts from the CEMUNE network to deliver concrete, applicable, and effective advice on multilateral negotiation management for a successful COP28.

This is the 8th COP Presidency CEMUNE has advised in preparation for their role as President of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

In collaboration with the ASEAN German Climate Action Program from GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit), in early November, CEMUNE developed a comprehensive, tailor-made, 3-day negotiation training workshop for the ASEAN member states negotiators in Bogor, Indonesia. 

Through this, we enhance ASEAN member states capacities and strength as a region with an active role and constructive voice within the UNFCCC multilateral process, as we have done with other previous projects, for instance, the African Group of Negotiators involved in the Montreal Protocol negotiations. 

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, comprises ten member states: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei Darussalam, Viet Nam, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Cambodia. 

Our support to the ASEAN Member States will continue during 2024 on their way to COP29 in Azerbaijan.