ESG Insider: A podcast from S&P Global

In recent episodes of the ESG Insider podcast we’ve been covering some of the big outcomes from COP29, the UN’s climate change conference in Baku, Azerbaijan. This was known as the "finance COP,” and today we’re back with another bonus episode looking at how climate finance has changed over time.   We sit down on the sidelines of COP29 with Sean Kidney, CEO of the Climate Bonds Initiative, a nonprofit that works to mobilize global capital for climate action. He discusses his key takeaways from COP29, the dramatic change he is seeing in sustainable debt markets and the outlook for the energy transition in 2025.   “I launched the Climate Bonds Initiative at the 2009 Copenhagen COP, where things got pretty grim,” Sean says. “I look now at the change of sentiment ... most of the conversations I'm involved in — with finance, with development banks, with governments — are all about HOW to do it, not IF.” Listen to our previous coverage of COP29: UN official says credibility of climate COPs at stake heading into 2025: https://www.spglobal.com/esg/podcasts/un-official-says-credibility-of-climate-cops-at-stake-heading-into-2025   How the private sector showed up at COP29: https://www.spglobal.com/esg/podcasts/how-the-private-sector-showed-up-at-cop29   How the insurance industry is tackling climate risk: https://www.spglobal.com/esg/podcasts/how-the-insurance-industry-is-tackling-climate-risk   After COP29, what’s next for carbon markets: https://www.spglobal.com/esg/podcasts/after-cop29-what-s-next-for-carbon-markets This piece was published by S&P Global Sustainable1, a part of S&P Global.     Copyright ©2024 by S&P Global   DISCLAIMER   By accessing this Podcast, I acknowledge that S&P GLOBAL makes no warranty, guarantee, or representation as to the accuracy or sufficiency of the information featured in this Podcast. The information, opinions, and recommendations presented in this Podcast are for general information only and any reliance on the information provided in this Podcast is done at your own risk. This Podcast should not be considered professional advice. Unless specifically stated otherwise, S&P GLOBAL does not endorse, approve, recommend, or certify any information, product, process, service, or organization presented or mentioned in this Podcast, and information from this Podcast should not be referenced in any way to imply such approval or endorsement. The third party materials or content of any third party site referenced in this Podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions, standards or policies of S&P GLOBAL. S&P GLOBAL assumes no responsibility or liability for the accuracy or completeness of the content contained in third party materials or on third party sites referenced in this Podcast or the compliance with applicable laws of such materials and/or links referenced herein. Moreover, S&P GLOBAL makes no warranty that this Podcast, or the server that makes it available, is free of viruses, worms, or other elements or codes that manifest contaminating or destructive properties.  S&P GLOBAL EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL LIABILITY OR RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR OTHER DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF ANY INDIVIDUAL'S USE OF, REFERENCE TO, RELIANCE ON, OR INABILITY TO USE, THIS PODCAST OR THE INFORMATION PRESENTED IN THIS PODCAST.

In recent episodes of the ESG Insider podcast, we’ve explored how different sectors are approaching climate change. In today’s bonus episode, we’re focusing on the insurance industry in an interview with Liz Henderson.   Liz leads Climate Risk Advisory for Aon, a global insurance and reinsurance brokerage firm. In the episode she talks about her key takeaways from COP29, the UN climate conference that recently took place in Baku, Azerbaijan.  This event was widely known as the "finance COP," and Liz says that insurance plays a critical role alongside private finance. "You cannot have bankable high-value investment capital without risk capital alongside it to de-risk those investments," she tells us.   Liz also talks about the role of data and the insurance industry’s unique perspective on risk, thanks to its long history of modeling the impacts of events like hurricanes, floods and wildfires. She said this allows insurers to help companies measure and manage their climate risks.   Listen to our previous coverage of COP29:  How the private sector showed up at COP29: https://www.spglobal.com/esg/podcasts/how-the-private-sector-showed-up-at-cop29   After COP29, what’s next for carbon markets: https://www.spglobal.com/esg/podcasts/after-cop29-what-s-next-for-carbon-markets   UN official says credibility of climate COPs at stake heading into 2025: https://www.spglobal.com/esg/podcasts/un-official-says-credibility-of-climate-cops-at-stake-heading-into-2025   This piece was published by S&P Global Sustainable1, a part of S&P Global.      Copyright ©2024 by S&P Global   DISCLAIMER   By accessing this Podcast, I acknowledge that S&P GLOBAL makes no warranty, guarantee, or representation as to the accuracy or sufficiency of the information featured in this Podcast. The information, opinions, and recommendations presented in this Podcast are for general information only and any reliance on the information provided in this Podcast is done at your own risk. This Podcast should not be considered professional advice. Unless specifically stated otherwise, S&P GLOBAL does not endorse, approve, recommend, or certify any information, product, process, service, or organization presented or mentioned in this Podcast, and information from this Podcast should not be referenced in any way to imply such approval or endorsement. The third party materials or content of any third party site referenced in this Podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions, standards or policies of S&P GLOBAL. S&P GLOBAL assumes no responsibility or liability for the accuracy or completeness of the content contained in third party materials or on third party sites referenced in this Podcast or the compliance with applicable laws of such materials and/or links referenced herein. Moreover, S&P GLOBAL makes no warranty that this Podcast, or the server that makes it available, is free of viruses, worms, or other elements or codes that manifest contaminating or destructive properties.   S&P GLOBAL EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL LIABILITY OR RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR OTHER DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF ANY INDIVIDUAL'S USE OF, REFERENCE TO, RELIANCE ON, OR INABILITY TO USE, THIS PODCAST OR THE INFORMATION PRESENTED IN THIS PODCAST. 

In recent episodes of the ESG Insider podcast, we’ve been hearing about takeaways from COP29, the UN climate conference that recently wrapped up in Baku, Azerbaijan. In this episode, we hear about the rising private sector engagement at events like COP29, and how companies are collaborating across the public and private sector to find solutions to climate change. "When I look today just at the breadth of involvement there is in the private sector…I've really seen a step change in terms of the engagement," says Sagarika Chatterjee, Climate Finance Director and Finance Lead for the UN Climate Change High-Level Champions, a group that aims to drive collaboration on climate action between governments, businesses and investors.  "The question, of course, is how good can we get at collaborating with the public sector on some very tricky areas and working fast enough so that we can reach the needs that there are of developing countries for climate finance," Sagarika tells us. In the episode we also speak to:   -Sherry Madera, CEO of the disclosure nonprofit CDP  -Kristen Sullivan, Partner at audit, consulting and advisory firm Deloitte where she leads Sustainability and ESG Services  -Naoko Ishii, Director of the Center for Global Commons, a research center at the University of Tokyo  -Yevgeniya Bikmurzina, Head of the Innovation Ecosystem Department within Azerbaijan’s Innovation & Digital Development Agency  Listen to our previous coverage of COP29 outcomes:  UN official says credibility of climate COPs at stake heading into 2025: https://www.spglobal.com/esg/podcasts/un-official-says-credibility-of-climate-cops-at-stake-heading-into-2025   After COP29, what’s next for carbon markets: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/after-cop29-whats-next-for-carbon-markets/id1475521006?i=1000680181847 Listen to our interview with CDP CEO Sherry Madera at Climate Week NYC: https://www.spglobal.com/esg/podcasts/cdp-ceo-talks-climate-nature-and-the-future-of-sustainability-disclosure   This piece was published by S&P Global Sustainable1, a part of S&P Global. Copyright ©2024 by S&P Global DISCLAIMER By accessing this Podcast, I acknowledge that S&P GLOBAL makes no warranty, guarantee, or representation as to the accuracy or sufficiency of the information featured in this Podcast. The information, opinions, and recommendations presented in this Podcast are for general information only and any reliance on the information provided in this Podcast is done at your own risk. This Podcast should not be considered professional advice. Unless specifically stated otherwise, S&P GLOBAL does not endorse, approve, recommend, or certify any information, product, process, service, or organization presented or mentioned in this Podcast, and information from this Podcast should not be referenced in any way to imply such approval or endorsement. The third party materials or content of any third party site referenced in this Podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions, standards or policies of S&P GLOBAL. S&P GLOBAL assumes no responsibility or liability for the accuracy or completeness of the content contained in third party materials or on third party sites referenced in this Podcast or the compliance with applicable laws of such materials and/or links referenced herein. Moreover, S&P GLOBAL makes no warranty that this Podcast, or the server that makes it available, is free of viruses, worms, or other elements or codes that manifest contaminating or destructive properties. S&P GLOBAL EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL LIABILITY OR RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR OTHER DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF ANY INDIVIDUAL'S USE OF, REFERENCE TO, RELIANCE ON, OR INABILITY TO USE, THIS PODCAST OR THE INFORMATION PRESENTED IN THIS PODCAST. 

At the recent UN climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, countries finalized key rules and guidelines for international carbon trading under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement on climate change.   In this bonus episode of the ESG Insider podcast, we discuss these outcomes and what they mean for the future of carbon markets with Mark Kenber, Executive Director at the Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative. VCMI is a nonprofit with a goal of enabling high-integrity voluntary carbon markets that contribute to the goal of the Paris Agreement, protect nature and support the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.  "The rules around the Paris Agreement carbon markets known as Article 6 were finally agreed, and that now gives some confidence to those who are developing projects, looking at investing in the market, developing markets at a national level and, of course, buyers, that there is now a UN imprimatur on project-based carbon markets," Mark tells us. "And with luck, that will encourage more investment."  Listen to our previous coverage from COP29 here: https://www.spglobal.com/esg/podcasts/un-official-says-credibility-of-climate-cops-at-stake-heading-into-2025 Listen to our explainer podcast series on carbon markets:  Exploring the role of carbon markets in reaching climate targets: https://www.spglobal.com/esg/podcasts/exploring-the-role-of-carbon-markets-in-reaching-climate-targets   What's next for voluntary carbon markets: https://www.spglobal.com/esg/podcasts/what-s-next-for-voluntary-carbon-markets   Learn more about the Global Carbon Markets Conference hosted by S&P Global Commodity Insights: https://cilive.com/assemble/events/energy-transition/101824-global-carbon-market-conference   This piece was published by S&P Global Sustainable1, a part of S&P Global.  Copyright ©2024 by S&P Global  DISCLAIMER  By accessing this Podcast, I acknowledge that S&P GLOBAL makes no warranty, guarantee, or representation as to the accuracy or sufficiency of the information featured in this Podcast. The information, opinions, and recommendations presented in this Podcast are for general information only and any reliance on the information provided in this Podcast is done at your own risk. This Podcast should not be considered professional advice. Unless specifically stated otherwise, S&P GLOBAL does not endorse, approve, recommend, or certify any information, product, process, service, or organization presented or mentioned in this Podcast, and information from this Podcast should not be referenced in any way to imply such approval or endorsement. The third party materials or content of any third party site referenced in this Podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions, standards or policies of S&P GLOBAL. S&P GLOBAL assumes no responsibility or liability for the accuracy or completeness of the content contained in third party materials or on third party sites referenced in this Podcast or the compliance with applicable laws of such materials and/or links referenced herein. Moreover, S&P GLOBAL makes no warranty that this Podcast, or the server that makes it available, is free of viruses, worms, or other elements or codes that manifest contaminating or destructive properties.  S&P GLOBAL EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL LIABILITY OR RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR OTHER DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF ANY INDIVIDUAL'S USE OF, REFERENCE TO, RELIANCE ON, OR INABILITY TO USE, THIS PODCAST OR THE INFORMATION PRESENTED IN THIS PODCAST.