The Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) is participating this week in Bilbao in the seventh edition of the international congress Innovate4Climate, which brings together actors in the sectors related to the fight against climate change, from the private sector to representatives of governments and international organisations. The Spanish delegation at this congress was headed by the Undersecretary of MITECO, Miguel González Suela.

The opening session of the congress was also attended by the Minister of Economic Development, Sustainability and Environment of the Basque Government, Ms. Arantxa Tapia, as well as representatives of the German government and the World Bank. On this first day of the congress, the debate focused on the challenges linked to climate finance, with an initial intervention by the Secretary General of the Treasury, Carlos Cuerpo, from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation.

During his welcoming remarks, the undersecretary of MITECO pointed out that this edition is framed in a historic moment to accelerate climate action, as the first cycle of the global balance of ambition of the Paris Agreement comes to an end, constituting a cornerstone to promote political attention and trigger climate action of greater ambition to ensure the effective implementation of the Paris Agreement.

González Suela highlighted the importance of adopting climate agendas in countries that minimise the impacts of climate change on our society, accompanied by ambitious, science-based regulations and a long-term vision. He also stressed the need to ensure that political signals, including, among others, the CO2 price signal, are clear and specific to ensure that financial flows go in the right direction. Finally, he emphasised the need to incorporate social aspects as a central axis of policies, highlighting examples such as the just transition agreements and tenders carried out by the Ministry through the Institute for Just Transition.

INNOVATE4CLIMATE CONGRESS

Innovate4Climate is a congress organised by the World Bank, with the support of the governments of Spain and Germany. The 2023 edition has participants from more than 132 countries who will take part in an extensive programme consisting of plenary sessions to introduce the central themes of debate each day, more than 40 workshops and parallel events to debate public-private partnerships in climate action, and an exhibition space with 30 exhibition pavilions in which the presence of Spanish companies should be highlighted.

During these three days, companies, governments, institutions and multilateral banks will exchange ideas on how to make further progress in mobilising public and private finance to respond to the mandates of the Paris Agreement.

Source: MITECO