This webinar is the third and final session of a COVID-19 Webinar Series co-organised with the UNDP.
The COVID-19 crisis is an enormous challenge to economies and societies across the world, but it must not derail global efforts to limit warming to well-below 2°C. Forthcoming stimulus packages governments design to shore up their countries’ economies must orient investment towards sectors and technologies that can accelerate the transition towards a low carbon future and improve resilience to future shocks from climate change. While addressing the health crisis and providing relief to affected businesses are the main current priorities, post-crisis recovery programmes also present an opportunity to more closely align public policies with climate objectives and limit the risk of locking-in carbon-intensive infrastructure. What governments should avoid is trying to boost their economies in the wake of one global health crisis by exacerbating another — namely, climate change.
The growing urgency of the climate crisis shows the dire need for immediate measures to drastically cut emissions now. And the opportunities to do so, given new developments with clean technologies and their falling costs, have never been better. While the restrictions on travel and large meetings are challenging, in turn, they may also help us shift our own behavior to work, education, and travel patterns that are much more sustainable, including recognising the opportunities and broader benefits of teleworking and virtual meetings. We are being forced to reset our habits now, but we should use this as a learning moment as we come out of the crisis. Taking bold climate action such as increasing renewable energy capacity can stimulate economic growth while also meeting climate targets and ultimately, the SDGs.
Bold action does not have to be from governments alone. In order to manage this new world of multiple risks, public and private sector actors must hold hands and meet the challenge together.
This session will explore:
- How countries are working towards fiscal stimulus packages that will lead to a green recovery, referencing to case studies from the region
- How the private sector is contributing to greener recovery through, green finance, technology and digitisation
- How new public and private partnerships are emerging across the region as the new normal arrives
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Megan Argyriou Head of International Programs, ClimateWorks Australia Meg leads ClimateWorks’ international programs, with a focus on Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands. This includes efforts to identify and catalyse opportunities for low carbon industrial development in Southeast Asian economies, to develop long term sectoral transition roadmaps, and to redirect finance flows to align with the goals of the Paris Agreement and Agenda for Sustainable Development 2030. She also brings extensive experience in convening public and private stakeholders to develop ambitious low carbon growth plans in some of Australia’s most emissions intensive regions. She recently led the development of the Investment Vision Guide, a framework designed to complement and build on efforts by developing countries to articulate their long-term, low emissions development strategy under the Paris Agreement. It does this by helping governments to identify how to align policy and investment signals today with their long term decarbonisation goals. Her growing team, based across offices in Jakarta and Melbourne, is currently developing work programs focused on green recovery in ASEAN, sustainable finance and clean energy transitions in Indonesia and net zero pathways in the Kingdom of Tonga. |
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Balázs Horváth RBAP Senior Economic and Strategic Advisor on Belt and Road Initiative, UNDP Asia Pacific Balázs Horváth took up his post as RBAP Senior Economic and Strategic Advisor on Belt and Road Initiative in October 2018. As the Strategic Advisor on Belt and Road Initiative, he led the team to work with China Development Bank drafting Report on Harmonizing Investment and Financing Standards towards Sustainable Development along the Belt and Road, and now the team is working with CCIEE on the Global Governance Report. As RBAP Economic and Strategic Advisor, he led the teams that produced publications, including The Social and Economic Impact of COVID-19 in the Asia-Pacific Region, Addressing the COVID-19 Economic Crisis in Asia through Social Protection, and Position Note on Economic Aspects of Climate Change. Prior to this, he served as the Director of the UNDP Seoul Policy Centre since June 2016. From 2012 to 2016, he served as Country Director in UNDP’s South Sudan Country Office. Beforehand, he worked in the Europe and CIS Regional Center of UNDP as Poverty Reduction Practice Leader, then as Acting Director. This followed 18 years in various positions in the International Monetary Fund. He has dealt with diverse aspects of economic policies and complex development situations, including poverty and inequality reduction, social programmes, global climate change, good governance and rule of law. He is an experienced leader with a strong analytical economic and development background and has a compelling record in management. He was the lead author of flagship publications on Human Development, and on Sustainable Development. |
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Muhammad Yusrizki Muliawan Director, PT Basis Utama Prima Muhammad Yusrizki has been involved in many entrepreneurial ventures and investments during his career that has spanned the energy, infrastructure, and technology sectors in Indonesia. He is the Director of Basis Investments, a boutique investment company focusing on promoting renewable energy and creating funds for investing in the renewable energy space in Indonesia. Mr. Yusrizki joined a prominent association in renewable energy, the Indonesia Smart Grid Initiative, and is appointed as the Head of Investment and Mega Project. The association is very active in advocating for stakeholders in Indonesia to accelerate the energy transition process in response to the country’s greenhouse gas reduction targets. Mr. Yusrizki holds an Engineering degree from Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB). He has also participated in a Fellowship programme at the Singapore International Foundation (SIF) and experienced a short study in National University of Singapore (NUS). |
