Reflections on COP29

This year, COP 29 will take place in Baku and a key focus at the conference will be finance, countries requiring considerable amounts of finance to significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions and protect people from the worsening effects of climate change. The Conference will aim to find a new collective quantified goal on finance. Countries will also present their updated climate action plans, as under the Paris Agreement. COP 29 is seen as an important opportunity to accelerate action to tackle the climate crisis.

This panel of experts will explore what was achieved during COP 29 and whether there were any missed opportunities, with a specific focus being paid to the work of agreeing a collective quantified goal on finance. Ahead of the tenth anniversary of the Paris Climate Accords, the panel will also reflect on COP process and whether a new forum is required in order to achieve greater change.

About the Speakers:

Jerry Mac Evilly is Head of Policy in Friends of the Earth where he manages research, advocacy and stakeholder engagement in support of campaigns on fossil fuel phase-out and climate action. Jerry has over 15 years' experience in developing, researching and influencing policy in both the government and Not-For-Profit sectors. Previously he held policy positions in the Oireachtas, the Department of Foreign Affairs, the CRU, as well as a number of NGOs. Jerry is a member of the National Economic and Social Council, the EPA Advisory Committee and EirGrid’s National Advisory Committee.

Dr Sinead Walsh is Climate Director in the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Ireland. Prior to this she served as the EU Ambassador to South Sudan. Dr Walsh has worked for Ireland’s DFA since 2009, and previously served as the Ambassador of Ireland to Sierra Leone and Liberia and was the Head of Irish Aid in the two countries. Before joining the DFA, Sinead spent ten years working in the NGO sector and is the co-author of Getting to Zero: A Doctor and A Diplomat on the Ebola Frontline.

Sam Peacock is the Managing Director, Corporate Services, Regulatory and Strategy at SSE. He has been a member of the SSE Group Executive Committee since 2020 and leads SSE’s teams overseeing corporate strategy, government and regulatory affairs, communications, brand, and local project communications. Prior to joining SSE in 2011, he directed government affairs at the UK Regulator, Ofgem and worked at leading communications agency Edelman, as well as in the UK Parliament and in the UK Government.

Dr Cara Augustenborg is an Assistant Professor in Environmental Policy at University College Dublin; a member of Ireland’s Climate Change Advisory Council; and a member of President Higgin’s Council of State. She also serves as an advisor to Teagasc’s Signpost Programme and on the IIEA’s newly formed agriculture and climate change forum. She currently leads two EPA-funded research projects to assess administrative burdens in Ireland’s Climate Action Plan (ABICAP) and to use worldviews to inspire and scale climate action (UWISCA).

This event has been organised in conjunction with SSE.

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