Challenges and Opportunities for Harnessing Climate & SDG Synergies: the role of carbon dioxide removal

UN Regional Commissions High-Level virtual dialogue – side event to the UN High-Level Dialogue on Energy

Friday, 24 September 2021 at 11:00 AM UTC (07:00 EDT)

This event was recorded on 09 August 2021, and is also available with interpretation into 中文, Español and Français.

Five years on from the Paris Agreement, recognition is growing that without rapid acceleration in action, limiting global average temperature rise to 1.5-2°C will not be possible. All the emission pathways in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C will require the removal of large volumes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere using carbon dioxide removal (CDR) techniques to achieve net-zero and thereafter, net-negative emissions.

CDR includes both nature-based approaches such as afforestation and reforestation, and technology-based approaches such as direct air carbon capture and storage (DACCS). If deployed at the scale and pace indicated by the IPCC, CDR would create co-benefits and trade-offs for delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Substantial governance gaps exist around large-scale CDR which need to be addressed urgently to ensure that societal choices, policies, and investments consider regional and national specificities as well as climate and energy goals, in the context of the SDGs implementation.

 

High-level Virtual Dialogue:

The UN Regional Commissions can play an instrumental role in bringing different actors together, addressing knowledge and governance gaps and breaking silos in implementing the SDGs. Enhancing governance of CDR could provide an excellent opportunity to focus and align regional and international efforts and foster a cross-sectorial approach. This side-event to the UN High-level Dialogue on Energy  on the 24th of September 2021, will feature the Executive Secretaries of the five UN Regional Commissions, who will provide insight into how each region deals with synergies and trade-offs when it comes to responding to climate change objectives and the SDGs, including the role of CDR.

 

Speakers

Ms. Olga Algayerova, Executive Secretary, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)

Ms. Olga Algayerova is the Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). She took office on the 1st of June 2017. Ms. Algayerova previously served as Permanent Representative of Slovakia to the International Organizations in Vienna, Austria (since 2012). She was previously President of the Millennium Development Goals of Slovakia (2010-2012); Secretary of State, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2006-2010) and Export Director at Zentiva International, as (2004-2006). 

 

 

 

 

 

Ms. Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, Executive Secretary, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP)

Ms. Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana was appointed Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) on 13 September 2018.

Prior to joining ESCAP, Ms. Alisjahbana was Professor of Economics at Universitas Padjadjaran in Bandung, Indonesia, a position she assumed in 2005. She joined Universitas Padjadjaran as a lecturer in 1988. Since 2016, she has served as Director for the Center for Sustainable Development Goals Studies at Universitas Padjadjaran and Vice Chair of the Indonesian Academy of Sciences.

She also serves on the Governing Board of the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA), and member of the Indonesian Academy of Sciences (Akademi Ilmu Pengetahuan Indonesia – AIPI), the Forum of Statistics Community (Forum Masyarakat Statistik or Advisory Council of the Indonesian Statistics), the International Advisory Board of the Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies and Council Member of the Regional Science Association International (RSAI).

From 2009 to 2014, she was Minister of National Development Planning and the Head of the National Development Planning Agency (BAPPENAS), Indonesia. She served as Co-chair of the Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation from 2012 to 2014. From 2009 to 2014, she was Alternate Governor of the World Bank and Alternate Governor of the Asian Development Bank representing the government of Indonesia. In 2016, she was a member of the High Level Independent Team of Advisors to support the ECOSOC Dialogue on the longer term positioning of the United Nations Development System in the context of the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development.

Ms. Alisjahbana has been involved in various research projects and consultancies to the United Nations University/Institute for Advanced Study in Tokyo, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), Australia, the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), the European Commission, and the International Labor Organization (ILO). Ms. Alisjahbana earned her Bachelor degree in Economics and Development Studies from Universitas Indonesia, Indonesia, a Masters degree in Economics from Northwestern University, USA and a Ph.D in Economics from University of Washington, USA. She was awarded the Mahaputra Adipradana Order (Bintang Mahaputra Adipradana) from the Republic of Indonesia, honorary brevet from the Indonesian Navy and honorary flight wing from the Indonesian Air Force.

Ms. Alicia Bárcena, Executive Secretary, United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UNECLAC)

Alicia BárcenaMs. Alicia Bárcena assumed office as the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) on 1 July 2008. She had previously served as the Under‐Secretary‐General for Management at United Nations Headquarters in New York, Chef de Cabinet and Deputy Chef de Cabinet to the former Secretary‐ General, Mr. Kofi Annan. She held the post of Deputy Executive Secretary of ECLAC and Director of the Environment and Human Settlements Division.

Ms. Bárcena has published numerous articles on sustainable development, public policy, environmental issues, and public participation. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), as well as a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Harvard University.

Ms. Barcena has been awarded honoris causa doctorates from the University of Oslo, Norway, the University of Havana, Cuba, and the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). She received the 2013 medal in International Relations of the University of Anáhuac.

Ms. Rola Dashti, Executive Secretary, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UNESCWA)

Ms. Dashti is a leading Kuwaiti economist and long-time champion of women’s rights, gender equality and democratic reform. 

She served as member of the Supreme Planning Council in Kuwait. From 2012 to 2014, she was Minister for Planning and Development and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs. Ms. Dashti played a pivotal role in advocating for a decree to allow Kuwaiti women to vote and run for parliamentary elections. In May 2009, she and three others became the first women to be elected to the Kuwait parliament. 

She has held key positions in research and development institutions, such as the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, and has worked for major national and international financial and development institutions, such as the National Bank of Kuwait and the World Bank. She also managed contracts for the Kuwaiti Emergency and Reconstruction Program during the invasionto-post liberation period. 

She is a regular contributor to regional and international policy forums on global governance, economic development and integration, democratization, and women’s empowerment in the MENA region. 

She has served as chairperson for the Arab Planning Institute, and for the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council for the MENA region. She was a member of the advisory panel for the World Bank on Middle East political and economic transition, of the advisory council for the Arab Human Development Report 2009, of the Supreme Council for Planning and Development in Kuwait, and of the Executive Committee of Young Arab LeadersKuwait Chapter. She served on the executive board of the Pan-Arab Women Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Violence against Women, and on the board of the Arab Women Parliamentarians Network for Equality (Ra’edat). 

She won the North-South Prize of the Council of Europe for 2010 together with Mr. Mikhail Gorbachev. She also received the Clinton Global Citizens Award for 2009, the Vital Voices Global Leadership Award for 2006, and the King Hussein Humanitarian award for 2005. She is listed among the top 150 women leaders by Business Week, among the top 20 businesswomen in the Arab region by the Financial Times, and among the world’s 100 most powerful Arabs by Arabian Business. She was featured in The Next Founders: Voices of Democracy in the Middle East as a leader and a champion for women’s rights from Kuwait. 

Ms. Dashti holds a doctorate degree in population dynamics from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, a master’s degree in economics and finance from California State University in Sacramento, and a bachelor of science in agriculture economics from California State University in Chico. She speaks Arabic and English fluently. 

Ms. Vera Songwe, Executive Secretary, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA)

Vera SongweMs. Vera Songwe is the United Nations Under-Secretary-General and the 9th serving Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). Following her appointment, she became the first woman to lead the institution in the organisation’s 60-year history and the highest ranking United Nations regional official.  

As Executive Secretary, Songwe, focusing on “ideas for a prosperous Africa”, her organisational reforms have brought to the fore critical issues of macroeconomic stability; development finance, growth and private sector; poverty and inequality; the digital transformation and data; and trade and competitiveness. She is acknowledged for her long-standing track record of providing policy advice on development and her wealth of experience in delivering development results for Africa. A strong advocate of the private sector, she launched a business forum debate at ECA and created, for the first time, a private sector Division with a number of significant initiatives.  

In March 2020, she was listed as one of Africa’s 50 most powerful women by Forbes and as one of the ‘100 Most Influential Africans’ by Jeune Afrique in 2019. In 2017 she was also listed as amongst the ‘100 Most Influential Africans’ by New African Magazine and as one of the “20 Young Power Women in Africa”. In 2018, she was chosen by the Institut Choiseul pour la politique internationale et la géoéconomie (France) as one of its “African leaders of tomorrow” and was included in the “Top 10 Female Business Leaders in Africa” by the African Business Review in 2014. In 2015, she was listed as one of the ’25 African to watch’ by the Financial Times.  

Before joining the ECA, Songwe held a number of leading roles at the World Bank and International Finance Corporation (IFC). Songwe serves as a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. She is also a member of the African Union institutional reform team under the direction of the President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, and an advisory board member of the African Leadership Network and the Mo Ibrahim Foundation.  

Moderator: Janos Pasztor, Executive Director, Carnegie Climate Governance Initiative (C2G)

Janos Pasztor (a Hungarian and a Swiss citizen) is Senior Fellow of the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs, and is Executive Director of the Carnegie Climate Governance Initiative (C2G).​

He has four decades of work experience in the areas of energy, environment, climate change, and sustainable development. Before taking up his current assignment he was UN Assistant Secretary-General for Climate Change in New York under Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Earlier, he was Acting Executive Director for Conservation (2014), and Policy and Science Director (2012-2014), at WWF International. He directed the UNSG’s Climate Change Support Team (2008-2010) and later was Executive Secretary of the UNSG’s High-level Panel on Global Sustainability (2010-2012). In 2007 he directed the Geneva-based UN Environment Management Group (EMG). During 1993-2006 he worked and over time held many responsibilities at the Climate Change Secretariat (UNFCCC), initially in Geneva and later in Bonn.

His other assignments included: the Secretariat of the UN Conference on Environment and Development (Earth Summit ’92); Stockholm Environment Institute; United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP); Secretariat of the World Commission on Environment and Development (Brundtland Commission); the Beijer Institute; and the World Council of Churches.

He has BSc and MSc degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

 

Highlights

“How does the West-Asia region deal with synergies and trade-offs between climate objectives and the Sustainable Development Goals?”

Rola Dashti
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UNESCWA)

“Why is it urgent for countries in the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe region to achieve net zero and prepare to go net negative?”

Olga Algayerova
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)

“How can countries use nature-based interventions to link the Sustainable Development Goals with climate goals?”

Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana 
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP)

What opportunities and challenges has the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean region identified studying different Carbon Dioxide Removal approaches?”

Alicia Bárcena
United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UNECLAC)

“How do countries in the West-Asia region deal with the dilemma: being highly vulnerable to climate change and dependent on fossil fuels?”

Rola Dashti
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UNESCWA)

“Why is fair market-based financing key to developing Carbon Dioxide Removal in Africa?”

Vera Songwe
United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA)

“What has the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe been doing to support the development of Carbon Dioxide Removal?

Olga Algayerova
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)

“How would the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean region approach technological Carbon Dioxide Removal and Solar Radiation Modification?

Alicia Bárcena
United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UNECLAC)

“How does the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa see Carbon Dioxide Removal supporting economic growth and development on the continent?”

Vera Songwe
United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA)

Recap of our Major Collaborations with UN Regional Commissions:

 

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