COP28: Transparency for impacts is high on the global agenda

GRI engagements at the 2023 UN Climate Change Summit

The annual global gathering to raise the bar for action to address climate change gets underway next week, as COP28 is held in the United Arab Emirates. GRI – as provider of the world’s most widely used sustainability reporting standards – will be attending to ensure greater attention is on the impacts of organizations, and the role of high-quality reporting, to inform progress and solutions.

As such, senior GRI representatives are speaking in a wide range of COP28 events and panels over the next two weeks. To note, the sessions listed below are in-person, with some including streaming or remote participation options. Local times are included (GMT+4).  

• United solutions for connected problems: A holistic approach to climate action and the SDGs (2 December, 09:45; Blue Zone, ISO Pavilion): Leading sustainability organizations, standard setters, and policymakers – including Ally Adigue, Director of GRI ASEAN – will discuss concrete actions and joint collaboration, in this workshop by IMP Platform.  
• Leaders roundtable on Implementation of the UN High-Level Expert Group report Integrity Matters - credibility, accountability, regulation for non-state actors (3 December, 15:00; Blue Zone): Jessica Fries, Deputy Chair of the GRI Supervisory Board, is participating. 
• Corporate sustainability disclosures as the foundation for transition finance (3 December, 16:45; Blue Zone, Singapore Pavilion): A panel discussion hosted by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, will include GRI’s Ally Adigue, covering the need for interoperability between GRI and ISSB standards.  
• Connecting the dots: Technology’s role in delivering sustainability reporting readiness (4 December, 15:30, Blue Zone, UNFCCC Pavilion): This event by Microsoft will explore new ESG reporting requirements, aligning national regulations with UNFCCC submissions, and the role of digital technologies, and includes GRI Supervisory Board Member Esther An.  
• Systematic transformation with circularity in mind (4 December 16:30; Innovation Zone, Global Action Stage): This high-level panel discussion organized by Climate Action includes Harold Pauwels, GRI Director of Standards, and will address why circularity must become the new norm in all economies to rectify the damage already done.  
• Climate – nature nexus in global sustainability reporting (6 December, 15:30, Innovation Zone, Climate Action Stage): GRI’s Harold Pauwels will moderate a discussion on next generation sustainability reporting on climate change and nature, latest developments around the GHG Protocol, and challenges and lessons learned from climate reporting for future reporting on biodiversity and nature. 
• Frameworks and Standards for nature and climate (9 December, 09:45; Blue Zone, ISO Pavilion): Interactive session on the work of GRI, EFRAG, TNFD and CDP on assessing, reporting, and managing nature-related dependencies, impacts and risks, in which Margherita Barbieri, Senior Manager – GRI Standards, is a speaker.  
• Private Sector Accountability & Just Transition in the Agriculture Sector (9 December, 11:30; Blue Zone, ILO Just Transition Pavilion): Margarita Lysenkova, GRI’s Senior Policy Manager, will coordinate a session that will include perspectives from business, banking sector, and civil society, on a just transition in agriculture. 
• Advancing Sustainable Agriculture: Private Sector Accountability and Global Standards (10 December, 11:30; Blue Zone, ISO Pavilion): GRI’s Margarita Lysenkova will be joined by WBA, Upfield and Rabobank in an ISO-moderated session, focused on scaling up the ESG disclosure and corporate action on climate change in the agrifood sector. The session will explore barriers to corporate reporting and the benefits of transparency. 
   

For more about GRI’s role in advancing climate change reporting, access the Climate Standards project page. A public comment period is currently underway for the exposure drafts on climate and energy.