Meet Gold Standard At COP29

This year, Gold Standard, in collaboration with WWF and GenZero, will host the Carbon Finance Summit at COP29 in the Blue Zone, Baku, Azerbaijan, on 14 November and 19 November. This summit will feature a series of events centered on high-integrity applications of carbon finance. Margaret Kim, CEO of Gold Standard, will join a panel discussing financing nature-based solutions. This will explore how to scale the effectiveness of carbon finance while balancing climate, biodiversity, and social benefits, and will follow a fireside chat on the need for and challenges of carbon finance, with Manuel Pulgar-Vidal - WWF Global Climate and Energy Practice Lead and Gold Standard board member.?

Find out more about this summit, and the other events Gold Standard will be attending, below.

The agenda and event details are subject to change. All times provided are local time in Baku.?

Should you like to meet with a Gold Standard employee during an in-person event, please send a request [email protected]

12 November?

The Blended Finance Schemes that Can Make a Difference

18:30-20:00?Azerbaijan Time 12 NOV | Side Event Room 8 Margaret Kim CEO at Gold Standard will participate as a panellist at this event. In alignment with the objectives of the New Collective Quantitative Goal (NCQG) on climate finance, this session will explore how innovative blended finance mechanisms can help scale investments to meet the Sustainable Development Goals. The NCQG, aimed at mobilizing resources beyond the $100 billion annual goal, places increasing importance on leveraging both public and private investments to close the climate finance gap—an issue central to our discussion.? By integrating the principles of blended finance, we can unlock capital flows and channel funding towards high-impact, scalable solutions, particularly in emerging markets. The session will focus on innovative models, case studies, and strategic frameworks that are crucial to achieving the NCQG and supporting climate-resilient development.

13?November?

Governance and guardrails: What does good regulatory oversight look like for carbon markets???

11:00 - 12:15?Azerbaijan Time 13 NOV | Singapore Pavillion

Hugh Salway will moderate a panel in the Singapore Pavilion, on governance and regulatory oversight of the carbon market.? The path to harmonised carbon market regulations may be long, but robust oversight remains essential for the continued enhancement and effectiveness of the voluntary carbon market. However, what constitutes good regulatory oversight? How should leaders and regulators strike a balance between too much regulation to stifle growth and too little to incentivise action? Panellists for the session include:?

• Frederick Teo, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), GenZero
• Benedict Chia, Director General, Prime Minister's office, Strategy Group, National Climate Change Secretariat?
• Scott O'Malia, Chief Executive Officer, International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc.

14?November?

Launching a New Solution to De-risk Carbon Markets

09:00 - 10:00?Azerbaijan Time 14 NOV | World Bank Pavillion HOSTED BY: World Bank

Margaret Kim will participate as a panellist in an event organised by the World Bank’s Multilateral Guarantee Investment Agency (MIGA), launching a new Letter of Authorisation template to support standardisation and de-risk Article 6 transactions.?? High-integrity carbon markets have the potential to deliver an impactful triple bottom-line – imperative climate action, development outcomes, and private capital mobilization.? Unfortunately, these markets are suffering from a significant trust deficit. For over 30 years, MIGA’s guarantees have bred trust. Join us for the launch of MIGA’s Letter of Authorization template, a public good for securing insurability rights and standardizing host government commitments to investors. Panellists:?

• Margaret?Kim, Chief Executive Officer
• Ravi Menon, Ambassador for Climate Action, Government of Singapore
• Francesco La Camera, Director General, IRENA
• Marie Owens Thomsen, Senior Vice President for Sustainability, IATA
• Dirk Forister, CEO , IETA

Carbon Finance Summit

16:00 - 18:00?Azerbaijan Time 14 NOV | World Bank Pavillion HOSTED BY:?WWF, GenZero, Gold Standard

Gold Standard, WWF and GenZero will co-host a ‘Carbon Finance Summit’ in the WWF Pavilion, with a series of events focused on high-integrity applications of carbon finance.??

As part of the above summit, Margaret Kim will be a panellist at an event focused on the financing of nature-based solutions and how the effectiveness of carbon finance can be scaled up while balancing the climate, biodiversity, and people.

Keynote: Manuel Pulgar-Vidal, Global leader of Climate & Energy at WWF Moderator: Rui Huang, Vice President of Investments, GenZero Panellists:?

• Margaret Kim, Chief Executive Officer
• Alberto Carrillo Pineda, CTO, SBTi

Article 6 Crediting Protocol for Countries’ Use of Independent Crediting Programmes

16:45 - 18:15?Azerbaijan Time 14 NOV | Side Event Room 7 HOSTED BY:?Gov of Singapore, Gold Standard, Verra

Singapore, Verra and Gold Standard are launching the Article 6 Crediting Protocol to guide and harmonise how governments can build on independent crediting programmes to implement cooperative approaches under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement and drive greater private sector investment.?Hugh Salway will join this event as a panellist.

Moderator: Beatriz Granziera, Senior Policy Advisor, The Nature Conservancy Panellists:?

• Hugh Salway, Senior Director, Market Development and Partnerships
• Benedict Chia, Director General (Climate Change), National Climate Change Secretariat (NCCS) in the Prime Minister’s Office Government of Singapore
• Federico de Credico, Interim CEO, Climate Action Data Trust
• Andrew Howard, Senior Director, Climate Policy and Strategy, Verra

Future Growth Scenarios in the Clean Cooking Sector. Role of Carbon Finance to Scale Up Activities

12:00 - 12:45?Azerbaijan Time 14 NOV | Nordic Pavillion HOSTED BY: Nordic Pavillion

Margaret Kim will participate as a panellist in a Nefco-organised event in the Nordic Pavilion, focused on how responsible carbon finance can unlock new opportunities for funding the clean cooking sector, accelerating the scale-up of high-technology clean cooking solutions to strengthen climate resilience in Africa.? Responsible carbon finance can unlock new opportunities for commercial lending and other funding streams in the clean cooking sector, accelerating the scale-up of high-technology clean cooking solutions to strengthen climate resilience in Africa, achieving significant health outcomes and empowering women and girls. The Modern Cooking Facility, managed by Nefco and funded by Sweden, Norway and the European Union, pledges to mobilise public and private finance by supporting the generation of high integrity carbon credits in its portfolio.

Moderator: Ash Sharma, Vice President, Special Funds, Nefco Panellists:?

• Margaret Kim, Chief Executive Officer
• Tom Price, Co-Founder/CEO, EcoSafi, the Better Cooking Company
• Ruth Gichuhi, Senior Manager, EED Advisory

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15?November?

Innovation in the Implementation of Article 6: Carbon Transaction Facility and Policy Crediting

15:00 - 16:30 Azerbaijan Time 15 NOV | World Bank Pavillion HOSTED BY:?GGGI, Gold Standard

The implementation of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement is now underway. Across the world, there are examples of governments, the private sector, civil society and international organizations taking and enabling action to aid the implementation of NDCs through carbon finance.?

At the same time, there remains an urgent need to scale up activities, if carbon trading under Article 6 is to play a meaningful role towards the delivery of the Paris Agreement’s goals. This event, co-hosted by the Global Green Growth Institute and Gold Standard, will showcase initiatives seeking to mobilize greater finance and impact. Presentations of pioneering solutions will be followed by panel discussions where practioners in the market will share their thoughts on barriers to scaling, and explore how international cooperation, innovation and integrity can help to realize the full potential of Article 6.?? Speakers:?

• Margaret Kim, Chief Executive Officer
• Fenella Aouane, GGGI
• Alison Carlin,?Government of New Zealand
• Arun Vignesh,?Government of Singapore

Advancing Forest Policies for NDC Achievement and Carbon Market Access through International Cooperation

16:30 - 18:00?Azerbaijan Time 15 NOV | Forest Pavillion HOSTED BY:?AFoCO

The event aims to strengthen international climate cooperation by showcasing the role of policy and legal frameworks in supporting forest-based climate actions. It will also highlight ongoing initiatives and share strategies to integrate climate objectives into national policies and leverage market mechanisms for sustainable forest management.

• To highlight the role of forest policy frameworks and legal instruments under the UNFCCC Warsaw Framework for REDD+ and Article 6 of the Paris Agreement in enhancing the international climate cooperation.
• To share ongoing international forest cooperation initiatives that support host countries in achieving their NDC targets and enhancing climate ambition.
• To facilitate knowledge sharing on the integration of climate objectives into national forest policies and the development of market-based tools to increase accessibility to carbon markets for sustainable forest management.

Hugh Salway will speak on the convergence of compliance, voluntary carbon markets, and dMRV. Speakers:?

• Hugh Salway, Senior Director, Market Development and Partnerships

View COP29 Schedule On Gold Standard Website

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