UN Trade and Development at the COP29 United Nations Climate Change Conference

At COP29, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) spotlighted how the climate emergency deepens economic inequalities.

 

At the Trade and Investment House, we showcased strategies to achieve climate goals while promoting sustainable, low-carbon growth in developing economies.

 

On Climate Finance, Investment and Trade (FIT) Day, we joined global partners to champion policies for an equitable and inclusive climate response.

 

Throughout the summit, we called for predictable transparent climate finance and equitable carbon markets. We advocated for measures to ensure resource-rich developing countries fully benefit from their critical energy transition minerals.

Quote icon
At COP29, we must turn climate ambitions into action, especially for the most vulnerable. We must harness the power of trade, investment and finance to accelerate the global energy transition, create jobs and tackle inequalities worldwide.

UN Trade and Development's agenda at COP29

Trade and Investment House Side Event Climate FIT Day
09:00 - 10:00
COP29 Trade and Investment House event: Working together for better climate action
Room: Trade and Investment House, Blue Zone (Pavilion Space B4)
Location: Baku
Speakers:
  • Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General, World Trade Organization
  • Chantal Line Carpentier, Head of the Trade, Environment, Climate Change and Sustainable Development Branch, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
  • Ralph Ossa, Chief Economist, WTO
  • Dora Benedek, Deputy Division Chief, Tax policy Division, Fiscal Affairs Department, IMF
  • Stéphane Hallegatte, Senior Climate Change Adviser, World Bank
  • Kurt van Dender, Acting Head of the Tax Policy and Statistics Division of the Centre for Tax Policy and Administration (CTPA), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
10:30 - 12:00
COP29 Trade and Investment House event: Global leaders call to unite in trade for climate action
Room: Blue Zone, B4
Location: Baku
Speakers:
  • Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
  • Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General, World Trade Organization
  • Phillipe Varin, Chair, International Chamber of Commerce
  • Masatsugu Asakawa, President , Asian Development Bank (ADB)
  • Ali Zaidi, Assistant to the President and White House National Climate Advisor, Government of the USA
16:45 - 18:15
COP29 side event: Trade and investment policies to advance climate ambition, implementation and sustainable development
Room: Baku Stadium, COP29 Blue Zone, Zone B
Location: Baku
Speakers:
  • Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
  • Luz Maria de la Mora, Director, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
  • Pamela Coke-Hamilton, Executive Director, International Trade Centre
  • Jean-Marie Paugam, Deputy Director General, WTO
  • Hyginus ‘Gene’ Leon, President, Caribbean Development Bank
  • Mari Tveit, Chief Executive, Research Council of Norway and President of Science Europe.
  • Sung Hwan Cho, President , ISO
  • Dalila Hamou, Director, External Relations Division, WIPO
  • Irene Madeje, Director General, Cereals and Other Produce Regulatory Authority (COPRA), Tanzania
  • Manfred Schepers, CEO and Founder, ILX (the Netherlands)
  • Nan Li Collins, Director, Division on Investment and Enterprise, UN Trade and Development
09:00 - 11:00
COP29 Climate FIT Day event: High-level meeting on the Baku Initiative for Climate Finance, Investment and Trade (BICFIT Dialogue)
Room: Blue Zone, Presidency Area, Conference Room Mugham
Location: Baku
Speakers:
  • Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
  • Mikayil Chingiz Jabbarov, Minister of Economу, Azerbaijan
  • Achim Steiner, Administrator, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
  • Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General, World Trade Organization
  • Pamela Coke-Hamilton, Executive Director, International Trade Centre
  • Makhtar Diop, Managing Director, International Finance Corporation (IFC)
  • Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
  • Ismail Ersahin, CEO and Executive Director, WAIPA
  • Philippe Varin, Chair, ICC
  • Isaac Solomon, President, Caribbean Development Bank (CDB)
  • Nan Li Collins, Director, Division on Investment and Enterprise, UN Trade and Development
  • Nazeem Noordali, Chief Operating Officer, Trade Solutions Complex
09:30 - 11:00
COP29 Trade and Investment House event: Exchanges and climate action – financing the net zero transition
Room: Blue Zone, Pavilion B4, Trade and Investment House
Location: Baku
Speakers:
  • Nan Li Collins, Director, Division on Investment and Enterprise, UN Trade and Development
  • Eric Usher, Head, UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI)
  • Jean-Paul Servais, Vice Chairman, International Organization of Securities Commissions
  • Anthony Miller, Economic Affairs Officer, UNCTAD
  • Ruslan Khalilov, CEO, Baku Stock Exchange
  • Manyu Moravenov, CEO, Bulgaria Stock Exchange
  • Ines Rocha, Regional Director for Europe, IFC (World Bank Group)
  • Mardi McBrien, Director of Strategic Affairs , IFRS Foundation
  • Rebeca Minguela, CEO, Clarity AI
  • Mathilde Mesnard, Deputy Director and OECD Co-ordinator, Climate and Green Finance
  • Sherry Madera, CEO, Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP)
  • Ahmed Rushdy, Executive Director, Regional Center for Sustainable Finance
12:30 - 14:00
COP29 Trade and Investment House event: Accelerating climate action with innovation, investment and inclusive solutions
Room: Blue Zone
Location: Baku
Speakers:
  • Nan Li Collins, Director, Division on Investment and Enterprise, UN Trade and Development
  • Serena Mak, Executive Director, Sustainable Finance of DBS
  • Anthony Cheung, Supervisory Board Member, World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA)
  • Michael Tse, Director of the Academy of Innovation, CityUHK
  • Vincent Cheng, Director- Climate & Sustainability | East Asia Leader, ARUP
15:00 - 16:30
COP29 Climate FIT Day event: Financing the low-carbon energy transition in Asia and the Pacific
Room: Blue Zone
Location: Baku
Speakers:
  • Nan Li Collins, Director, Division on Investment and Enterprise, UN Trade and Development
  • Suba Sivakumaran, Chief of Section of Financing for Development , Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)
  • Wei Huang, Director, Division of Planning, Information and Knowledge Management, Department of Nuclear Energy, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
  • Eric Usher, Head, UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI)
  • Karen Fang, Managing Director, Global Head of Sustainable Finance, Bank of America
  • Eniya Listiani Dewi, Director General, New, Renewable Energy, and Energy Conservation, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources
  • Mari Elka Pangestu, Special Presidential Envoy on International Trade and Multilateral Cooperation, Indonesia
  • Owen Herrnstadt, Director, US EXIM Bank
15:30 - 16:30
COP29 Trade and Investment House event: Exchanges and climate innovation – climate disclosure, carbon markets and net zero
Room: Green Zone | Pavillion D 10
Location: Baku
Speakers:
  • Lisa Remke, Deputy Coordinator, United Nations Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative (UN SSE)
  • Rodrigo Buenaventura, Chair of the Sustainable Finance Task Force, International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO)
  • Ralitza Germanova, Lead, Sustainability Disclosure and Transparency Program, International Finance Corporation (IFC)
  • Owain Johnson, Managing Director, Global Head of Research and Product Development, CME Group
  • Wei-nee Chen, Head Carbon Market, Bursa Malaysia
  • Claire Dorrian, Head of Sustainability Financem Capital Markets and Post-Trade, London Stock Exchange Group
  • Tamsin Ballard, Chief Initiatives Officer, Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI)
  • Cristina Gil White, interim CEO, Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)
  • Kieran Dobson, EMEA Head Client Engagement, S&P Global
  • Tajinder Singh, Deputy Secretary General, International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO)
  • Jenny Bofinger-Schuster, Board Member, International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB)
15:30 - 16:30
COP29 Climate FIT Day event: Policy experiences contributing to climate action: Global leaders unite to advance climate FIT action – the coherence 'missing piece'
Room: Blue zone
Location: Baku
Speakers:
  • Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
  • Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General, World Trade Organization
  • Berthold Goeke, Director General, Climate Action in the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK)
  • Pamela Coke-Hamilton, Executive Director, International Trade Centre
  • Phillipe Varin, Chair, International Chamber of Commerce
11:30 - 12:30
COP29 Trade and Investment House event: Dialogue on investing in diversifying critical minerals value chains for accelerating the energy transition
Room: Blue Zone | Trade and Investment House | B4, Area E
Location: Baku
Speakers:
  • Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
  • Marit Kitaw, Interim Director of the African Minerals Development Center (AMDC), African Union
  • Anna Shpitsberg, Chief Climate Officer, U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC)
  • Antonio Hill, Advisor, Natural Resources Governance Institute (NRGI)
  • Gyubin Hwang, Global Coordinator, Children and Youth Major Group to UNEP
  • Jonathan Dunn, Head of Climate, Strategy and Sustainability, Anglo American
  • Lisa Sachs, Director, Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment (CCSI), Columbia University
  • Oluranti Doherty, Managing Director, Export Development Division, African Export Import Bank (Afreximbank)
  • Sara Olsvig, Chair, Inuit Circumpolar Council
  • Zhenyu Chen, Director of Mineralogy Department, Institute of Mineral Resources, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences
12:30 - 14:00
COP29 Trade and Investment House event: Investing in green transition
Room: Blue zone
Location: Baku
Speakers:
  • Nan Li Collins, Director, Division on Investment and Enterprise, UN Trade and Development
  • Alfred Ho, Dean, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, City University of Hong Kong
  • Anjali Viswamohana, Director of Policy, Asia Investor Group on Climate Change
  • Matthew Stephenson, Head, Investment and Services, World Economic Forum
  • Jerry Hu, Managing Director, Full Vision Capital
  • Freddy Boey, President, City University Hong Kong
13:15 - 14:45
COP29 side event: Leveraging postal networks to influence global freight emissions
Room: Side event room 1, Blue Zone
Location: Baku
14:30 - 18:00
COP29 side event: Green bonds in Azerbaijan's capital market
Room: Baku Stock Exchange, Garabagh meeting hall, H. Zardabi str. 2A
Location: Baku
Speakers:
  • Ruslan Khalilov, CEO, Baku Stock Exchange
  • Anthony Miller, Economic Affairs Officer, UNCTAD
  • Sean Kidney, CEO, Climate Bonds Initiative
  • Alina Aldambergen, Chairperson, Kazakhstan Stock Exchange
  • David von Eiff, Director, Global Industry Standards, CFA Institute
  • Shakhin Mahmudzada, Executive Director, Central Bank of the Republic of Azerbaijan
  • Vugar Namazov, CEO, Unicapital
  • Sevinj Abdullayeva, Group Finance Director, Nobel Energy
  • Tajinder Singh, Deputy Secretary General, International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO)
15:00 - 16:00
COP29 Trade and Investment House event: High-level ministerial dialogue on financing the energy transition in the Asia-Pacific – strategies to move beyond business as usual in financing
Room: Blue zone
Location: Baku
Speakers:
  • Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
  • Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, Executive Secretary, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP)
  • Biman Prasad, Deputy Prime Minister & Minister of Finance, Republic of Fiji
  • Thoriq Ibrahim, Minister of Climate Change, Environment and Energy, Maldives
  • Romina Khurshid Alam, Coordinator to PM on Climate Change, Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination, Islamic Republic of Pakistan
  • Leong Sing Chiong, Deputy Managing Director , Monetary Authority of Singapore
  • Felix William B. Fuentebella, Undersecretary, Department of Energy, Republic of the Philippines
  • Henry Gonzalez, Deputy Executive Director, Green Climate Fund
  • Inger Andersen, Executive Director, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
17:00 - 18:00
COP29 Trade and Investment House event: Leveraging carbon markets for the sustainable development of least developed countries
Room: Green Zone, Trade and Investment House, D-10
Location: Baku
Speakers:
  • Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
  • Ragnheiður Elín Árnadóttir, Director, OECD Development Centre
  • Gabriel Labbate, Head of the Climate Mitigation Unit , UNEP
  • Evans Njewa, Chair of the LDC Group
  • Perumal Arumugam, Manager, Mitigation Division, UNFCCC
18:30 - 20:00
COP29 Trade and Investment House event: High-level panel on actions and partnerships to accelerate financing of green energy prospects
Room: Blue zone
Location: Baku
Speakers:
  • Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
  • Nan Li Collins, Director, Division on Investment and Enterprise, UN Trade and Development
  • Jean Baderschneider, Non-Executive Director, Fortescue
  • Nigar Arpadarai, Deputy of the National Assembly Azerbaijan
  • Alok Sharma, COP 26 President
  • Robert Tichio, CEO, Fortescue Capital
  • Rosen Plevneliev, former President, Bulgaria
  • Jerry Hu, Managing Director, Full Vision Capital
  • Yves Leterme, Former Prime Minister, Belgium
  • Adair Turner, Chair, Energy Transitions Committee
  • Joyce Banda, former President, Malawi
  • Csaba Kőrösi, former President of the UN General Assembly
  • Helen Brume, Director & Global Head for the Project & Asset Based Finace, Afrexim Bank
  • Anderson Shum, Vice President, Research and Innovation , CityUHK
10:00 - 11:00
COP29 Trade and Investment House event: Trade for climate positive growth: From insights to impact
Room: Green zone
Location: Baku
Speakers:
  • Amelia Santos-Paulino, Chief, Investment Research Section Chief of Investment Issues, and Analysis Section at UNCTAD’s Division on Investment and Enterprise, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
  • Shasha Zhao, Senior Lecturer, University of Surrey
  • Pervez N. Ghauri, Professor, University of Birmingham
  • Emily Barran, Green Industrialization Lead, Climate Platform Action for Africa (CAP-A)
  • Bilha Ndirangu, CEO, Great Carbon Valley
  • Sung-Ah Kyun, Associate Director, Head of Green Policy and Climate Analytics, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
  • Nadia Paleari, EU Climate Pact Ambassador, UN Youth Ambassador
11:00 - 12:00
COP29 side event: Biodiversity, trade, solidarity and climate change – How do international biodiversity value chains contribute to the fight against climate change and sustainable trade while strengthening their climate resilience?
Room: Pavillon de la Francophonie (n° i23) Blue zone
Location: Baku
Speakers:
  • Chantal Line Carpentier, Head of the Trade, Environment, Climate Change and Sustainable Development Branch, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
  • Cécile Martin Phipps, Director Francophonie Institute for Sustainable Development Institut de la Francophonie pour le développement durable, IFDD, Québec, Canada
  • Yasmin Ismail, Conseillère politique principale, Forum sur le commerce, l'environnement et les ODD (TESS)
  • Fidèle Kouadio Kouacou, Coordonnateur de projets climatiques, Fonds Interprofessionnel pour la Recherche et le Conseil Agricole, Abidjan, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
  • Adil Youssfi, Membre du conseil d'administration, Banque Mondiale et du PNUD
  • Francoise Van de Ven, President, ATIBT
11:30 - 13:00
COP29 side event: Striving for ambitious ocean-based action – how UN-Oceans can support States in scaling up ocean-related actions, including in the context of the next round of NDCs
Room: Side event room 3, Blue Zone
Location: Baku
12:45 - 13:45
COP29 Trade and Investment House event: Costs, synergies and trade-offs of the energy transition – lessons from the Climate Transition Impact Framework
Location: Baku
Speaker: Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
15:30 - 16:30
COP29 Trade and Investment House event: Collaborative climate actions for inclusive solutions – leaving no one behind
Room: Blue zone
Location: Baku
Speakers:
  • Pervez N. Ghauri, Professor, University of Birmingham
  • Ilex Lam, Prof of Practice and Co-Director of Lab for Impact Finance and Transformation, Public and International Affairs, CityUHK
  • Shasha Zhao, Senior Lecturer, University of Surrey
15:30 - 16:30
COP29 Trade and Investment House event: Advancing green digital action towards net-zero ICT sector
Room: Trade and Investment House
Location: Green Zone D 10
17:00 - 18:00
COP29 Trade and Investment House event: Development priorities for a New Collective Quantified Goal for climate finance
Room: Trade and Investment House, Blue Zone. Area E, Pavillion B4
Location: Baku
17:00 - 18:00
COP29 Trade and Investment House event: What do developing countries need from global financial architecture reform?
Room: Trade and Investment House, Blue Zone. Area E, Pavillion B4
Location: Baku
11:30 - 12:30
COP29 Trade and Investment House event: Strengthening the sustainability of trade through the integration of social and solidarity economy entities driving a just transition
Location: Baku
Speakers:
  • Chantal Line Carpentier, Head of the Trade, Environment, Climate Change and Sustainable Development Branch, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
  • Ertharin Cousin, Founder, President, and CEO, Food Systems for the Future
  • Rishabh Kumar Dhir, Technical Officer for Sustainable Enterprises and Just Transition, International Labour Organization (ILO)
  • Kaite Hughes, Senior Climate Change Specialist, Climate Change and Sustainable Development Department, ADB
  • Nurana Mammadova, Expert, Education HUB Azerbaijan
  • Niels Peter Nørring, Climate Director, Danish Agriculture and Food Council
15:30 - 16:30
COP29 Trade and Investment House event: Decarbonizing the global textile value chains – trade policy and practical experiences
Location: Baku
Speakers:
  • Niklas Hagelberg, Senior Programme Management Officer, Global Coordinator, Climate Change, UN Environment
  • Chantal Line Carpentier, Head of the Trade, Environment, Climate Change and Sustainable Development Branch, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
  • Abid Qaiyum Suleri, Executive Director, Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI)
  • Jesper Wohlert, European Partnerships Director, Humana People to People
  • Yasmin Ismail, Conseillère politique principale, Forum sur le commerce, l'environnement et les ODD (TESS)

Media contacts

For media inquiries and interviews:

In Baku

Mr. Marcelo Risi, Senior Communications Officer, UN Trade and Development

+41 76 691 18 74, marcelo.risi@un.org

In Geneva

Ms. Catherine Huissoud, UNCTAD Press Officer

+41 79 502 43 11, catherine.huissoud@un.org

Trade and Investment House

Date: 11–22 November
Location: Blue and Green Zone

For the first time, the Trade and Investment House (TIH) pavilion was in both the Blue and Green Zones of the UN climate summit.

UN Trade and Development, the Export and Investment Promotion Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the World Trade Organization, the International Chamber of Commerce and the International Trade Centre jointly hosted the pavilion.

The Trade and Investment House provided a dedicated space to spark discussions and showcase innovative solutions on how trade, investment and finance could accelerate climate action and sustainable development, ensuring a just transition to a low-carbon economy.

 

Green zone pavilion map
Blue Zone venue map
Blue Zone pavilion map
 
 
 

Media contacts

For media inquiries and interviews:

In Baku

Mr. Marcelo Risi, Senior Communications Officer, UN Trade and Development

+41 76 691 18 74, marcelo.risi@un.org

In Geneva

Ms. Catherine Huissoud, UNCTAD Press Officer

+41 79 502 43 11, catherine.huissoud@un.org

UNCTAD - Palais des Nations, 8-14, Av. de la Paix, 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
© Copyright | Privacy notice | Terms of use | Map disclaimer