Connecting voices and ideas for influence & projects
The Bridge Tank team was invited to attend the World Climate Summit, organized on the sidelines of the COP22 on Sunday, November 13th at the Palm Plaza Hotel in Marrakech. Continue reading “Marrakesh – World Climate Summit at COP22”
On November 10th, the Bridge Tank participated in an event organized by the Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy (MASEN) as part of the COP 22. The event presented recommendations to address the financial challenges of green greenfield.
Continue reading “Marrakech – Side Event COP22 “How to Financially Boost a ‘Green Greenfield’?””
The Side-Event « Innovation 360°: The Crossroads of Reflection and Innovation at the COP 22 », organized by the Bridge Tank, was held in the Africa Pavilion (located in the Blue Zone of COP22) on November 7th 2016.
On 16th November The Bridge Tank organised in the COP22 in Marrakech a conference whose topic was: “What innovations to face climate change? The President of the Bridge Tank Joël Ruet moderated this conference accompanied by Jasmine Zerinini, former French diplomat and member of the Bridge Tank and Chatham House steering committee. The keynote speakers were Wang Yao, Secretary General of China’s Standing Committee on Climate Finance, Daniel Kammen, Special Envoy of U.S. Secretary John Kerry, Ajay Mathur (Executive Director, TERI-The Energy and Resources Institute).
The conference identified the best practices in adapting models to developing countries, mobilizing resources, and providing incentives for regulation. In addition, it promoted South-South co-innovation, the capitalization of intellectual property and know-how for innovative models around local ecosystems. Finally, the forum highlighted the value of behavioral and civic innovation on human capital, education and the valorization of intangible capital for public policies of inclusive deployment of green technologies.
From November 7 to November 18, 2016, The COP22 took place in Marrakech, Morocco. This year, the forum dealt with the following themes: North/South financing, the issue of loss and damage as well as specific issues of the African continent such as adaptation and agriculture. The objectives of this international meeting were numerous (defining the rules of transparency to limit the emission of greenhouse gases, financing the 100 billion dollars/year, rethinking agriculture (AAA – Adaptation of African Agriculture, take stock of the environmental progress), however, the practical executions of many resolutions still remain unclear, particularly, the issue of the financing of 100 billion dollars every year by 2020 from the most polluting countries towards developing countries. Currently, only 16% of climate financing is dedicated to adaptation (even though Germany, Sweden, Italy and Belgium have pledged $81 million in new contributions to the Adaptation Fund).
As the countdown to the beginning of the COP22 conference continues, it’s important to understand what the perspectives of the major stakeholders will be. It’s no coincidence then that Joël Ruet, our well-traveled Chairman at The Bridge Tank, decided to make a trip to China this past weekend. Mr. Ruet spent Sunday, October 30, in Guangzhou, a sprawling port city and mega metropolis in the southeast of China, where he participated in a discussion on a topic that is sure to be on everyone’s mind going into the COP: finance.
The conversation was organized around a series of presentations followed by a round table discussion with experts on this area. The co-organizers were the People’s Bank of China, Guangdong University of Finance, and the Guangzhou-Tianhe Central Business District.
Mr. Ruet delivered one of the presentations with the title: “Financial Innovation and the Development of the Banking Industry Based on Global Perspectives”. His talk was split into three components: current challenges, banking business opportunities, and an action-oriented set of solutions for tackling existing obstacles and seizing present opportunities. Although the presentation took a global perspective, it was also tailored to the mostly Chinese crowd, and focused on financing green projects. This has been one of the recent research focuses of The Bridge Tank, given that it will feature as a critical issue in moving the objectives of the COP22 forward.
Mr. Ruet was then invited as one of the speakers in a round table discussion on the topic: “Opportunities and Challenges for the International Business of Commercial Banks Under the Background of RMB Internationalization”. The host of the discussion was Daner Li, president of the Guangdong-Nottingham Advanced Finance Institute. Other speakers included Mohamed Shaban, professor at the University of Sheffield; Yujing Xing, president of the Shenzhen branch of People’s Bank of China; Xingnan Wang, vice president of the Guangdong University of Finance; and Xinghua Cai, deputy director of the Guangdong branch of the Bank of China. The discussion was lively and focused on innovative steps forward.
The conference provided a preview of what’s to come at the COP22, and underlined the importance of finance and action on following up on the promises and objectives set forth in the Paris agreement last year. Mr. Ruet will be spending another day in China before racing home to share his findings with the team and prepare for the culmination of all of this work and globetrotting: the COP22 in Marrakech.
Sustainable development, this meta-project that aims to secure development without harmful consequences for humankind and the environment, is of great necessity as our planet is threatened by climate change. In developing countries in particular, it requires the large-scale deployment of “clean” or environmentally sound technologies. The role of industrial property is often evoked in this deployment, either as a catalyst or a hindrance to the development of environmentally sound technologies. One aim of this study is to answer the question of the role of industrial property in the adoption of environmentally sound technologies in developing countries. Read more …
The COP 22 marks the beginning of a new cycle of COPs: COPs of action. For all stakeholders, today’s challenge is to identify the tools that will permit the implementation of the commitments made last December. Thus, this will also be the COP of innovation: innovative ideas, tools, and solutions. This is why we are organising multiple side events in Marrakesh on the sidelines of the COP 22, as a part of our InnovaCOP initiative, a platform of action and interaction for innovation. Continue reading “The Bridge Tank at COP22 : Programme of our Side-Events”
The president of the Bridge Tank, Joël Ruet, was invited as a keynote speaker at a dinner-debate on the topic « The Challenges of Mineral Resource Management » in Dakar, Senegal on the 30th of September. The purpose of this evening was the launching of the Network of Parliamentarians for Management of Mineral Resources in West Africa (RGM).
On the sidelines of the opening of the 71st session of the UN General Assembly, Joël Ruet, chairman of The Bridge Tank, participated in a number of events in New York City, organized by the African Union and the IDLO (International Development Law Organization).
Continue reading “New York – Opening Week of the 71st Session of the UN General Assembly”
On September 28th, The Bridge Tank organized a dinner to launch the InnovaCOP platform at the Maison des Polytechniciens, in the heart of the 7th Arrondissement of Paris. Ms. Hakima El Haite, Deputy Minister of the Environment in Morocco, was present at the event, which brought together several renowned guests: presidents and representatives of foundations, members of the management team of companies, investment funds, lawyers, and experts. Continue reading “Inaugural Dinner for the Launch of the InnovaCOP Platform in the Presence of Madam Minister El Haite”
