Paving the Way for Debt Relief: Strategic Collaboration Between the G20 Presidency and the FfD4
A webinar looking at current global debt relief initiatives and exploring strategies to address the financing needs of developing countries through the G20 Presidency and the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development
December 10, 2024 9:00 am - 10:30 am ET
(Open to public)
What opportunities are there for debt relief through the South African G20 presidency and FfD4? Ahead of the first Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting under South Africa’s G20 Presidency, this virtual roundtable discussed how to drive ambitious debt relief initiatives in 2025, focusing on two pivotal platforms: the G20 Presidency and the Fourth Financing for Development Conference.
Bringing together thought leaders, the discussion dived into innovative initiatives to address the urgent financing needs of developing countries. Key topics included concrete debt relief proposals, how global forums can collaborate to build momentum, navigating current geopolitical challenges, and exploring ways to unlock the fiscal space needed for sustainable development.
Danny Bradlow, South African Research Chairs Initiative Professor of International Development Law and African Economic Relations, University of Pretoria
Marina Zucker-Marques, Senior Academic Researcher, Global Economic Governance Initiative, Boston University
Rodolfo Reta, Mexican Representative to the FfD4 Negotiations on Behalf of His Regional Grouping
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Webinar
The Pivotal Role of Sustainability for Ukraine’s Reconstruction
November 28, 2024 9:00 am - 12:00 pm CET
(Open to public)
About the Event
Together with the Ukrainian Climate Office, under the Capacities for Climate Action (C4CA) project, the International Institute for Sustainable Development organized an event focused on the critical topic of sustainability in Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction.
The event explored coordinated recovery strategies, the essential role of the building and housing sectors in reconstruction, and the financial aspects vital for a sustainable recovery. Panelists presented findings and recommendations from recent analyses of Ukraine’s green recovery plans, highlighted sustainability frameworks and approaches in the building sector, and discussed practical criteria for their implementation. Additionally, the event delved into ensuring that sustainability is a core component and catalyst for mobilizing finance within Ukraine’s reconstruction efforts.
Accelerating Africa’s Action for Sustainable Fisheries Management
This webinar aimed to support African countries in understanding the WTO Fisheries Subsidies Agreement, including its key provisions, the steps required for ratification, and the various support mechanisms available for effective implementation. Attendees will gain insights into how the agreement can contribute to sustainable fisheries management across the continent.
November 11, 2024 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm EAT
(By invitation)
Background
Africa’s fisheries sector is essential for over 400 million people, providing critical food sources and livelihoods, especially in coastal and island communities. However, overexploitation of marine resources, often driven by subsidies that encourage unsustainable fishing, has depleted fish stocks and undermined local economies. In response, the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, adopted in 2022, aims to curb harmful subsidies, reduce illegal fishing, and promote sustainable fisheries management globally. This agreement holds special significance for African nations, enabling them to protect resources and increase local economic benefits without restricting domestic fisheries development.
The African Union (AU) has long prioritized sustainable fisheries and aquaculture, advancing governance through frameworks like the 2014 Malabo Declaration and the 2019 Africa Blue Economy Strategy. To support African countries in ratifying and implementing the WTO Agreement, this webinar—organized by the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) in collaboration with IISD—provided insights into the agreement’s provisions, shared ratification experiences, and explored support mechanisms like the WTO Fisheries Funding Mechanism and IISD’s Self-Assessment Tool. This session aimed to build momentum for ratification and support sustainable, long-term fisheries management across Africa.
About the event
This webinar was designed for government officials, especially from AU Member States, who are involved in fisheries, foreign affairs, finance, and trade sectors. The event was also open to representatives from regional bodies, AU organizations, and development partners supporting Africa’s sustainable fisheries initiatives.
Participants gained insights into the agreement's key provisions, heard about the experiences of African countries that have completed ratification, and explored mechanisms for post-ratification support. The webinar emphasized the importance of this agreement in combating harmful fishing subsidies and enhancing sustainable fisheries management, which is critical for Africa’s food security, economic stability, and marine resource conservation.
Agenda (times in EAT)
3:00–3:10 pm. Welcoming remarks
Bernice McLean, Senior Program Officer, Blue Economy, African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD)
3:10–3:30 pm. The WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies: An explainer
Sainabou Taal, Head, Fisheries Subsidies, World Trade Organization (WTO)
3:30–3:50 pm. Support for Implementation: The WTO Fisheries Funding Mechanism
Jonathan Werner, Manager, WTO Fisheries Funding Mechanism (WTO Fish Fund)
3:50–4:10 pm. The Self-Assessment Tool for the Implementation of the WTO Fisheries Subsidies Agreement
Tristan Irschlinger, Senior Policy Advisor, Fisheries Subsidies, International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD)
4:10–4:40 pm. Experiences and lessons learned by African Member States who have successfully deposited their instrument of acceptance
Representatives from African Union Member States
4:40–4:55 pm. Q&A
All panelists
4:55–5:00 pm. Closing remarks
Bernice McLean, Senior Program Officer, Blue Economy, African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD)
Halfway through UN climate change talks in Azerbaijan, the Earth Negotiations Bulletin team reviewed the latest developments, took questions, and helped you prep for the final week of COP 29.
After a year of record-breaking temperatures, national leaders and negotiators will meet in Baku, Azerbaijan for UNFCCC COP 29. With expectations high for a meaningful new collective quantified goal (NCQG) to finance climate action for years to come—as well as pressure to build on last year's global stocktake decision and advance ambitious greenhouse gas mitigation—delegates will be hard pressed to prove they can quickly change the trajectory of global warming trends.
Earth Negotiations Bulletin climate negotiations expert Jennifer Allan discusses
which negotiating items progressed in the first week
where the greatest obstacles have arisen—and why
what we can expect from Week Two of the talks
Following a summary of the first week of negotiations, participants in the COP 29 Halfway Point Webinar posed questions to the team behind the world's most authoritative record of climate negotiations. Subscribe to the Earth Negotiations Bulletin newsletter to get daily updates from Baku.
There has been great progress in ecosystem services assessments and natural capital accounting. However, what evidence, tools, and processes do Canadian municipalities need as owners and managers of 60% of Canada’s infrastructure to recognize the value of natural infrastructure for future long-term resilience of our communities and evaluate it alongside traditional grey options?
During the webinar, our panelists showcased examples of the return on investment for natural infrastructure projects and discussed options for cost recovery, including specific project examples from Canadian municipalities such as the floodplain naturalization work done by the City of Grand Forks.
Key Takeaways from the Webinar:
Natural infrastructure can enhance existing municipal assets and make them more multi-functional. Many municipalities in Canada, such as the City of Vancouver, B.C., are faced with aging infrastructure and an asset replacement deficit. One argument used by the City of Vancouver to support more natural infrastructure projects for stormwater management was that the city was not planning to create completely new assets (with the associated planning and construction costs) but rather to enhance existing assets and make them more multi-functional. For example, bioretention systems are installed in areas that are already designated as landscaped spaces, and permeable pavements replace conventional pavement.
While natural infrastructure can cost less than conventional projects, lifecycle costs can vary. The key is to remember that natural infrastructure aims to achieve more and therefore provides additional value. The most obvious approach to recognizing the value of natural infrastructure is to compare its costs to an engineered alternative based on available estimates. Natural infrastructure often costs less because it can become self-functioning—for example, the naturalized floodplain in the City of Grand Forks, B.C., does not involve inspection costs like dams. However, construction and maintenance costs can vary significantly between projects and, in some cases, may be higher than conventional solutions. That said, these projects achieve more, offering multiple co-benefits such as habitat protection, carbon sequestration, and recreational opportunities. As Robb Lukes, Associate Director of the City of Vancouver Green Infrastructure Implementation Branch, puts it: “You can't get something for nothing. Everyone wants us to prove that it is going to cost less than a conventional approach, but we are trying to do more.”
Benefit quantification and monetization are important for recognizing the value of natural infrastructure, although they are not always the primary drivers for decision-making. In certain cases, if quantification tools or approaches are not yet consistently available, it may be sufficient to simply acknowledge the additional benefits of natural infrastructure compared to traditional approaches when making planning decisions. Furthermore, when risks to communities increase, requiring urgent adaptation, there may not be time for complex business cases; however, it may be clear that natural infrastructure offers a viable adaptation approach. When large-scale flood protection was not feasible with the available temporary solutions, the City of Grand Forks turned to a floodplain naturalization and habitat offset project as an effective way to mitigate increasing flood risk.
There is an appetite for a calculator adapted to the Canadian context to quantify and monetize costs and benefits of natural stormwater solutions, similar to the US-based GSI Impact Calculator. Infrastructure assessment methodologies like the Sustainable Asset Valuation (SAVi) developed by IISD can also help highlight and monetize previously unrecognized economic, social and environmental risks and externalities of natural and grey infrastructure projects and help decision-makers make investments into sustainable projects. To date, SAVi has been applied to more than 40 projects around the world, including two Canadian natural infrastructure projects Pelly’s Lake and Stephenfield Reservoir.
This webinar took place on November 26, 2024. Watch the full recording below or on YouTube.
Our Speakers
Graham Watt is a land use, infrastructure, and environmental planner with coordination and leadership roles in land use and watershed planning projects, emergency management programs, community-led disaster recovery, natural asset management, and long-range community planning. He is currently the Manager of Strategic Initiatives / Flood Recovery for the City of Grand Forks, where he leads flood risk reduction and non-structural flood mitigation projects as well as long-range planning initiatives and capital project planning. Previously, he was Senior Planner with the City of Grand Forks, Project Coordinator for the Kettle River Watershed Management Plan with the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary, and Basin Planner with the North Saskatchewan Watershed Alliance. Graham is also a director with the Grand Forks Search and Rescue Society and is active in the training program and winter rescue team.
Robb Lukes is the Associate Director of the City of Vancouver Green Infrastructure Implementation Branch where he leads the program to implement green infrastructure in the right-of-way and other public spaces. He has 20 years of experience in stormwater management policy, planning, design, and construction in the US and Canada. He has previously worked on green infrastructure projects and programs in Washington D.C., Toronto, and New York City.
Michail Kapetanakis is a research analyst for the Infrastructure team in the Economic Law and Policy Program at the International Institute for Sustainable Development. He has over 5 years of cross-sectoral experience in sustainability consulting and economic analysis for transport, cities and environmental projects.
Michail works on applying the Sustainable Asset Valuation (SAVi) methodology to sustainable transport projects and policies in countries including India, Indonesia, Colombia, Senegal and Kazakhstan, working with NGOs and local partners and stakeholders. He also works with the Nature-Based Infrastructure (NBI) Global Resource Centre, helping to apply the SAVi methodology to NBI projects across the world, through modelling, writing and data sourcing for reports.
Our Moderator
Elizabeth (Liz) Shearer is a Network Coordinator for Climate West and holds a Masters in Business Administration and a BA in Environmental Studies from the University of Winnipeg. She worked most recently as the Executive Assistant to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change for the Province of Manitoba, where she assisted in standing up the new Minister’s Office and connecting with a wide network of stakeholders in their first year. Previously she was the Manitoba Organizer for the Canadian Federation of Students, a bilingual organization, and the Sustainable Transportation Coordinator for the Green Action Centre.
Liz has been part of many campaigns and initiatives that organize stakeholder groups on important issues within the environmental sector, arts, labour, student movement and with political parties. She enjoys travelling, photography, taking in live music and spending time with her husband and young daughter. Liz is based on Treaty 1 Territory in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
A pivotal outcome anticipated from the 29th UN Climate Change Conference (COP 29) in Baku is establishing a consensus on defining the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG). It builds on the previous commitment by developed countries to jointly mobilize USD 100 billion per year to address the climate finance needs of developing countries.
The NCQG has the potential to be an important enabler of future climate action. At COP 21, parties agreed to set the NCQG prior to 2025 by considering the needs and priorities of developing countries, which are often at the frontline of climate change impacts. Agreeing to a new climate finance goal is crucial to unlocking ambition in the third generation of nationally determined contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement, due in February 2025.
The Global South needs to spend trillions annually to support climate action. Developed countries must step up to provide climate finance, with public funds at the core. The needs of each country within the Global South are unique, yet it is imperative that a collective understanding of these needs is reached to facilitate negotiations. COP 29 follows the important achievement of COP 28, where the world collectively agreed to transition away from all fossil fuels. An expected outcome of COP 29 is that it will be fair, just, and help accelerate global climate action.
This webinar—the second in a series of four—will bring together climate finance experts from India, Indonesia, South Africa, and Brazil to share their country perspectives and help build awareness of the climate finance needs of the Global South.
The success of the upcoming COP 29 in Baku will depend on countries agreeing on a new climate finance target (NCQG) for mitigation, adaptation, and loss and damage. According to UNFCCC, climate finance refers to local, national or transnational financing—drawn from public, private, and alternative sources of financing—that seeks to support mitigation and adaptation actions that will address climate change. The volume of climate finance needs to increase significantly, while also addressing quality concerns.
This webinar—the first in a series of four—aims to build awareness around climate finance, its size, and nature in the run up to the deliberations at COP 29 in November, particularly as it is viewed by the Global South. The speakers will dive into the current state of climate finance and explore the existing barriers to scaling climate finance.
This will set the context for subsequent webinars on the new collective quantified goal on climate finance, governance, and different mechanisms for mobilizing climate finance.
Around the world, women are coming together to embrace sustainable farming practices and access high-value markets, including those that are voluntary sustainability standard (VSS)-compliant.
In this webinar, we will feature experts working with women farmers in VSS-certified value chains. They will share insights and stories about how women have collaborated to adopt sustainable practices and improve their products, helping them reach higher-value markets.
We’ll hear directly about the experiences of those involved in women-led initiatives that have earned VSS certification. These stories will guide a discussion on how VSS-certification bodies can better support women’s groups and help them to succeed.
Interpretation will be provided in both French and Spanish for this event.
Speakers
Nguyen Bao Thoa, Director, Vietnam Rural Industries Research and Development Institute (VIRI)
The Canadian Prairies have a long history of variable and extreme weather, shifting between periods of wet and dry and resulting in large variations in water availability between years and seasons. This variation in the availability of water leads to disasters that are all to familiar, and only anticipated to become more frequent and severe with climate change – flood and drought.
Natural infrastructure is gaining momentum as an approach to delivering infrastructure services (e.g., reliable water supply, improved water quality), while supporting watershed health and the resilience of communities. The role of natural infrastructure in flood protection is a more common application, while the use of natural infrastructure for drought mitigation is less understood.
The prairies are no stranger to drought and flood, sometimes even in the same year. Drought and flood can be considered two sides of the same coin, and there is real potential for natural infrastructure to be designed and implemented to address both at the same time.
This webinar brings together experts to build momentum around natural infrastructure to help with not only flood, but drought, too. We will discuss how drought and flood are anticipated to impact the Canadian Prairies in the future and share examples of natural infrastructure in practice, wrapping up with discussion and audience questions.
Some key takeaways from this webinar were:
The climate across the Canadian Prairies is changing and projections for the future include more frequent drought and flood, due to hotter temperatures, changes to snow accumulation (critical to groundwater recharge and river levels), and heavy rainfall events.
The climate will continue to warm until global GHG emissions are reduced to and maintained at net-zero. Once maintained, the climate will stabilize, but unfortunately, there is no going back to the climate of the past. Planning for a future with more extreme weather events is critical to reduce the impacts to infrastructure, livelihoods, and safety.
Thanks to historical drainage and altered landscapes, many watersheds are nowhere near close to their maximum potential for water storage, a risky situation to be in when we consider how drought is anticipated to increase both in frequency and severity. We need creative solutions that “multi-solve”, addressing multiple issues and providing multiple benefits.
This webinar shared natural infrastructure approaches that can both increase water storage capacity on the landscape and decrease the volume and velocity of flood waters, along with many more benefits.
Effective wetland policy that conserves intact wetlands, as opposed to the ongoing wetland drainage which will only exacerbate the severity of flood and drought.
Beaver dam analogues are small structures built to mimic beaver activity along streams and tributaries, storing water during higher stream flow and helping to maintain flow where stream levels drop, providing habitat for endangered West Slope Cutthroat Trout, supporting groundwater recharge, and maintaining water and forage for ranchers. Added bonus – areas with beaver dams have been found to be more resilient to wildfires.
Water retention projects are growing in popularity across Manitoba, with funding to support implementation on agricultural land. With designs unique to each farm and the specific needs, water retention projects can use berms and water control structures to capture and store runoff, reduce the impacts of downstream flooding, help maintain surface water and forage, reduce damage to municipal and farm infrastructure, and in one project, even supplied water to an adjacent drinking water reservoir during drought, ensuring a supply of potable water for residents.
This webinar took place on October 29, 2024. Watch the full recording below or on YouTube.
Our Speakers
Dr. Heather Morrison has spent her career at the interface between science and decision-making. She has worked as a research scientist in the field of ecotoxicology, a senior science advisor and research manager in the field of air quality, and as director of the climate research division. These positions have provided Dr. Morrison with the opportunity to work closely with decision-makers to deliver relevant and credible science to support policy and regulatory development. Dr. Morrison received her BSc in Biological Sciences from Queen’s University and a PhD in Ecotoxicology from the University of Windsor.
Colin Whitfield is an Associate Professor in the School of Environment and Sustainability and the Global Institute for Water Security at the University of Saskatchewan. He is interested in understanding how pressures from human activities influence water resources and ecosystems, particularly at the watershed scale, and in working with partners to develop solutions to these challenges.
Colin’s research spans terrestrial to aquatic systems, including investigations of atmospheric pollution, catchment hydrochemistry, and aquatic greenhouse gas dynamics. He holds a BSc in Environmental Science from Simon Fraser University, and MSc and PhD degrees in Watershed Ecosystems from Trent University. Away from work, Colin enjoys spending time cycling, learning to ski, coaching soccer, and finding projects to do around the house.
Lesley Peterson is a professional biologist based in Calgary, AB where she holds the position of Conservation Director with Trout Unlimited Canada. Lesley has been with Trout Unlimited Canada for over 16 years ago, holding various positions in that time. Her current role involves overseeing and guiding the organization’s conservation and restoration programming and policy development. She also represents Trout Unlimited Canada on various regional and national working groups including species at risk recovery teams. Whenever possible, she also gets out in the field to support her field crews with restoration projects.
Justin Reid has been the Manager at the Redboine Watershed District since 2010 and has almost 20 years of experience in environmental and conservation industries. He lives with his family on a small acreage just outside Manitou, Manitoba and spends most of his free time traveling across Southern Manitoba following his kids in their various activities.
Our Moderator
Kerra Chomlak is the Executive Director of ClimateWest, a regional climate services organization for Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. ClimateWest’s mandate is to build climate resilience by helping communities, businesses, non-profits and governments make informed climate adaptation decisions that are based on the best data and information, tailored to their needs.
Prior to ClimateWest, Kerra worked as Environment Manager at the City of Leduc, Alberta, where she developed and implemented the City’s plans for climate adaptation and greenhouse gas reduction. Kerra has also served as the Executive Director of the Clean Air Strategic Alliance, where she learned the value of bringing together diverse interests to address complex sustainability challenges.
Kerra has recently completed a Master of Arts in Climate Action Leadership from Royal Roads University. She lives on Treaty 6 Territory, in the Homeland of the Métis Nation, and in a region that is home to one of the largest Inuit populations south of the 60th parallel.
How will Canadian industry prosper in a decarbonizing global economy?
This webinar will explore the recommendations to Canadian policymakers arising from two new reports by the Commission on Carbon Competitiveness — a group of leading Canadian and US experts in economics, climate policy, and trade law.
For over a year, the Commission has studied the opportunities and challenges facing Canadian industries as they work to reduce their emissions while remaining globally competitive.
At the webinar, Commissioners will be joined by leaders from Canadian industry to look at how public policy tools like emissions pricing systems, border carbon adjustments, and emissions-intensity standards can best be designed to support Canadian competitiveness.
Whatever Canada does, cooperation with our biggest trading partner will be critical. We’ll discuss the implications of the upcoming US presidential election for Canadian industry’s push to decarbonize.
This event marks the launch of the Commission’s first two reports on Canadian carbon competitiveness. The first report analyzes the unique competitiveness challenges across specific industrial sectors. The second report makes recommendations to policymakers that are designed to protect the competitiveness of these industries as they decarbonize.
Learn more about the Commission on Carbon Competitiveness here.
