At Baku, global leaders and policymakers will put finance as the priority where COP29 parties are getting ready to consider a more ambitious scale and scope of the new collective quantified goal (NCQG) on climate finance as well as the submission of the new NDCs as the new generation of national climate plans (the NDCs 3.0) which, in words of the UNFCCC Executive Secretary, the new NDCs are “the investment plans for the future”.
Given this momentum, UNESCAP, in partnership with UN Trade and Development, organizes this high-level political dialogue where heads of state and ministers from the Asia-Pacific region as well as other key high-level partners will have an opportunity to exchange their concrete national experiences in financing the energy transition.
Rebeca Grynspan, of Costa Rica, became UNCTAD's eighth Secretary-General on 13 September 2021 and is the first woman to lead the organization.
Prior to her UNCTAD appointment, she was the Ibero-American secretary-general from 2014 to 2021, also the first woman to head the organization. During her mandate, she has coordinated the 22-member Iberoamerican Conference and led four key summits of Heads of State and Government.
In 2010 she was appointed Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Associate Administrator of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and prior to that was UNDP Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean.
Prior to joining the United Nations, Ms. Grynspan served as Vice-President of Costa Rica from 1994 to 1998. She was also Minister of Housing, Minister Coordinator of Economic and Social Affairs, and Deputy Minister of Finance. In 2021 she was named Special International Advisor to the newly created Economic and Social Council of Argentina and invited to join as member of the G20 High-Level Independent Panel on Financing the Global Commons for Pandemic Preparedness and Response.
In addition to her experience as a lecturer and advisor to several international organizations, she has been actively involved in key United Nations initiatives, such as the Millennium Project's Task Force on Poverty and Economic Development and the High-level Panel on Financing for Development.
In 2014 and 2015, she was recognized as one of the 50 leading intellectuals of Latin America. And she was recognized as one of the 100 most powerful women in Central America by Forbes magazine.
Ms Grynspan holds a degree in Economics by the University of Costa Rica and a MSc in Economics by the University of Sussex. She has been awarded a Doctorate Honoris Causa by the University of Salamanca, the University of Extremadura and the European University of Madrid in recognition of her outstanding professional achievements.
Ms. Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana is currently the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).
Prior to joining ESCAP, Ms. Alisjahbana was Professor of Economics at Universitas Padjadjaran in Bandung, Indonesia. 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.
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.
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.
Minister Thoriq held the portfolio of protecting natural environment and its resources, managing climate change, coordinating the sustainable development goals, provision of the energy, water, sewerage and waste management services in the Maldives.
Minister Thoriq also oversaw and provided policy direction to the affiliated agencies under the Ministry – the Environmental Protection Agency, the Utility Regulatory Authority, the Maldives Meteorological Service, and the Biosphere Reserve Office.
Prior to his appointment as the Minister of Environment and Energy, he has served both in the private and public sector for more than 17 years in the field of building services, engineering design, and management of construction projects as well as mechanical and electrical building maintenance services.
Minister Thoriq holds a BEng (Hons) in Building Services Engineering from the Loughborough University of Technology (UK), an MSc in Building Science from National University of Singapore, and an MBA from Preston University (USA).
Mr. Thoriq Ibrahim served as the Minister of Environment and Energy from 19 Nov 2013 to 17 Nov 2018.
Henry has over 25 years of professional experience across sustainable and impact investing, emerging markets, and political and economic development. Prior to GCF, he was an Associate Fellow at Oxford University’s Saïd Business School and a Senior Management member and Global Head of Research & Advisory at Investments AG, where he led thought leadership, technical assistance, and ESG/impact integration strategies across finance, climate and agriculture. He also served as Vice President for Emerging Markets Debt investing at Morgan Stanley and held positions at the World Bank, the United Nations Development Programme, and the Government of Costa Rica. Henry has an MBA from Oxford University (Skoll Scholar), MPA from Harvard University (Fulbright Scholar) and BA in political science from the University of Costa Rica.
Inger Andersen is Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme.
Between 2015 and 2019, Ms. Andersen was the Director General of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).??Ms. Andersen has more than 30 years of experience in international development economics, environmental sustainability, strategy and operations.
For 15 years at The World Bank, Ms. Andersen held several leadership positions including Vice President of the Middle East and North Africa; Vice President for Sustainable Development and Head of the CGIAR Fund Council. Prior to the World Bank, Ms. Andersen worked for 12 years on drought, desertification; and water management at the United Nations including at the UN Sudano-Sahelian Office and UNDP.
