On Monday, the 4th, the CEBDS held the panel “Financing of ecological transformation in the Amazon: Blended finance solutions for practical application in the territory”, within the COP 28 program, in Dubai.
The panel was carried out by CEBDS in partnership with the Igarapé Institute, and was mediated by Ilona Szabó, from the same Institute, and as participants, in addition to Marina, Peter Bakker, from the WBCSD association; José Pugas, from investment manager JGP; Natália Dias, from BNDES; and Valmir Ortega, founder of Belterra Agroflorestas.
The panel discussions revolved around blended finance, and how business, philanthropic and state actors can act in coalition to expand a flow of capital at the speed and scale necessary to ensure ecological transformation in the Amazon.
On the occasion, CEBDS, Instituto Igarapé and JGP signed a cooperation agreement to unlock financial flows for sustainable initiatives that leave a concrete legacy for the Brazilian business sector in Belém and/or the Legal Amazon, for COP30, the UN Climate Conference, which will take place in the capital of Pará in 2025.
The agreement aims to structure hybrid finance mechanisms to enable these initiatives.
Concept – The point of consensus among the event participants was about how the concept – and action – of blended finance, which can be translated as “mixed financing”, a business model that aims to combine financial resources from different capitals, whether public, private or philanthropic, reach the largest number of people involved and can stimulate investment in sustainable projects in developing countries.
Marina Grossi made a retrospective since the creation of CEBDS, in 1997, echoing the news brought by the Eco 92 conference, in Rio de Janeiro. In 2012, the Council already brought together strong partnerships from the private sector and the Federal and State governments. Seven years later, the Council's focus turned to the Amazon, emphasizing the fight against deforestation in the region.
According to Marina, there is no way to talk about the Amazon without mentioning this true stain that is deforestation. Still on the subject, Marina said that everyone's current focus is COP 30 in Belém. “What we see here is that the route from Dubai to Belém is in vogue and everyone is talking about this issue. We at CEBDS are seeking to accelerate the process together with private sector movements, which requires great complexity, but we trust in the Council's power of articulation, and we know that in the Amazon we will not have to build anything from scratch, because everything exists there” , he highlighted.
Following Marina's speech, Peter Bakker highlighted the commitment of the Brazilian government that took a significant delegation to Dubai with around 2,400 members, and this has an eye towards COP 30. “All we want is to go to Brazil and on the way to Dubai In Belém, the role of business leaders is very important. We have two years ahead of us and we no longer have time for pilot projects, but rather to pursue paths to structural scales, with an impact on nature”, he said.
On the other hand, Ilona Szabó spoke about mapping the illicit economy, and also highlighted how much thought is being given to the legacy that COP 30 will leave for the region. “The focus is on what the COP will leave, mainly, for the people of this region”. Long before the concept of blended finance emerged, which some call a 'secret weapon', Brazil was already practicing this concept. The Safra Plan has always been an example of mixed financing”, began José Pugas.
“The architecture of blended finance is not easy, it is complex. It's about sitting at the table and convincing everyone that everyone can win, yes. And in this segment, CEBDS plays a decisive role, because it understands the subject well”, he highlighted.
Valmir Ortega showed that at Belterra, one of the challenges is concrete deliveries, guiding actions towards forest restoration. “Brazil’s challenge is to combine private sector resources towards sustainable production chains”, he said.
Marina spoke again about how sustainability actions cannot and should not fail to put people at the center of debates. “Climate integrality is an articulation that must seek many of the solutions in the territory, in how profits from the economy generated can reach the top,” he said.
Natália Dias, from BNDES, said that this banking entity sought a coalition with 17 development banks in Brazil. “We think about productive inclusion, focusing on Amazonian cities so that the pressure on the forest is removed. BNDES seeks developments in blended finance to promote risk reduction for everyone involved in the financing process”, he explained.
Another point focused on is blended finance, which previously only focused on financial entities, can now be partnered with the private sector, companies, which appear as guarantors in the entire process.
Watch here recording the event.
