The Bioeconomy Challenge:financial solutions to mobilize private investment

Objective of the Event:

This session on the is part of the bioeconomy track of Amazon Week. The event aims to showcase the progress of the Bioeconomy Challenge Finance Workstream by highlighting practical financing solutions, along with emerging approaches and innovative instruments that can drive a scalable bioeconomy transition in Amazonia. It will also position Amazonia as a global hub for bioeconomy knowledge and solutions that can be adapted across other biodiversity rich regions and help in the achievement of NDCs and NBSAPs targets.

The discussion will be complemented with a focused exchange on investment experiences, exploring practical challenges, opportunities, and pathways to mobilize capital into bioeconomy and nature-based solutions in Amazonia.

Event background:

Under Brazil’s leadership, global momentum for bioeconomy has accelerated with the launch of the G20 High Level Principles (2024) and the creation of the Bioeconomy Challenge (2025), a multistakeholder 3-year initiative translating these principles into action across metrics, finance, markets, and socio bioeconomy. As Lead of the Finance Working Group, the Interamerican Development Bank (IDB Group) is helping shape a financial architecture capable of mobilizing public and private capital to accelerate a bioeconomy transition. This event will showcase emerging solutions and innovations from Amazonia and highlight opportunities to advance responsible, inclusive, and nature positive bioeconomy investment worldwide.

Speakers:

• H.E. Ambassador Rodrigo Baena Soares, Ambassador of Brazil to Germany (welcoming remarks)

• Gabriel Todt de Azevedo, Head Amazon Coordination Unit at Inter-American Development Bank Group (Moderation)

• Dr. Tilman Schachtsiek, German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture

• Luana Maia, Global Brazil Lead at Nature Finance

• Marcelo Behar, COP30 Bioeconomy Special Envoy and WBCSD Senior Adviser

• Camille Bermerguy, Secretary for Bioeconomy of the State of Pará

• Chantal Line Carpentier, Head of the Trade, Environment, Climate Change and Sustainable Development Branch at UNCTAD

• Language: English

• Format: in-person panel session, followed by a reception with Instituto Paulo Martins, offering contemporary Amazonian cuisine by Chef Paulo Anijar.

Program:

3:30 pm: Doors open and registration

4:00 – 4:10 pm: Welcoming Remarks

H.E. Ambassador Rodrigo Baena Soares, Ambassador of Brazil to Germany

4:10 – 4:20 pm: Brief introduction and welcome to panelists, brief introduction of the Bioeconomy Challenge

Gabriel Todt de Azevedo, Chief of the Amazon Coordination Unit, IDB

4:20 – 4:30 pm: From National Strategy to Global Collaboration: Lessons from Germany’s Bioeconomy Journey and the Role of International Partnerships in Advancing a Connected Global Bioeconomy Agenda.

Dr. Tilman Schachtsiek, Focal point of the implementation of the German National Bioeconomy Strategy at the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture

4:30 – 4:40 pm: From Ambition to Action: The Role of the Bioeconomy Challenge in Advancing Practical Bioeconomy Implementation

Luana Maia, Global Brazil Lead at Nature Finance

4:40 – 4:50 pm: The Amazon Bioeconomy and its Strategic Role as an investable space at scale.

Marcelo Behar, COP30 Bioeconomy Special Envoy and WBCSD Senior Adviser

4:50 – 5:00 pm: From Global Interest to Local Impact: Enabling Conditions for Advancing Bioeconomy Opportunities at State Level in Pará

Camille Bermerguy, Secretary for Bioeconomy of the State of Pará

5:00 – 5:10 pm: Connecting Amazonian Bioeconomy to Global Markets: Pathways for Competitiveness, Inclusion, and Sustainable Scale

Chantal Line Carpentier, Head of the Trade, Environment, Climate Change and Sustainable Development Branch at UNCTAD

5:10 – 5:25 pm: Lightning Round (3 min each speaker)

All speakers

5:25 – 5:30 pm: Wrap up and Closing Remarks

Gabriel Todt de Azevedo, Chief of the Amazon Coordination Unit, IDB

5:30 – 6:30 pm: Reception with Instituto Paulo Martins, offering contemporary Amazonian cuisine by Chef Paulo Anijar.

Brief Bios of Speakers:

• Gabriel Todt de Azevedo, Unit Chief for the Amazonia Forever regional program at IDB. 

Gabriel brings over 35 years of professional experience, having held leadership positions in institutions such as the World Bank, the World Wildlife Fund, and in the private sector. He has worked extensively in the Amazon region in many sectors and capacities.  He joined IDB Invest in 2016, and he served as Managing Director for ESG and Sustainability at IDB Invest in RSM/SEG. Previously, he was Chief Regions Officer a.i., and Chief Strategy Officer a.i. at IDB Invest, where he led, among other priorities, the strategic coordination of IDB Invest work for the Amazon. Gabriel holds a PhD and a MSc in Civil Engineering from Colorado State University, as well as a BSc in Civil Engineering from the Federal University of Bahia (Brazil). 

• Camille Bendahan Bemerguy, Secretary for Bioeconomy of the State of Pará

She leverages over 25 years of experience in designing inclusive public policies and sustainable financial solutions. Currently serving as Secretaria Adjunta de Bioeconomia, the role focuses on advancing bioeconomy strategies to enhance environmental resilience and promote social inclusivity within the Amazon region. Her expertise includes bioeconomy, microfinance, poverty reduction, and economic development. Past roles, including consultancy for international organizations such as the World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank, underscore expertise in sustainable development across Brazil and Africa. Dedicated to building a just and inclusive world, that integrate a passion for nature and social causes into actionable policies that drives meaningful change.

• Luana Maia, Global Brazil Lead at Nature Finance

Luana is the lead for Global Brazil work, where she advances the Global Brazil portfolio. She has 15+ years of experience integrating themes of sustainability, governance, and human rights in managing high-impact projects. Previously, Luana was the Director of Strategic Planning at the Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development, helping companies move forward working on food systems and biodiversity. Luana was the first executive secretariat of the Brazilian Coalition on Climate Forests and Agriculture, one of the largest multi-stakeholder forums in Brazil to promote and implement a low-carbon economy focused on land use. She holds a B.A. in international relations and a M.Sc in Sustainability.

• Marcelo Behar, COP30 Bioeconomy Special Envoy and WBCSD Senior Advisor

Marcelo Behar is a sociologist and a lawyer graduated at University of São Paulo, in Brazil.  He is currently coordinator of the Climate Governance and Development Forum (FGCD) at FGV Direito SP. He was invited by Ambassador André Corrêa do Lago, president-designate of the 30th United Nations Conference on Climate Change, a Special Envoy for Bioeconomy. Marcelo has worked in many NGOs and as a journalist on Foreign Politics at Folha de São Paulo. Previously, he served the Brazilian government in the Justice (as Chief-of-Staff and responsible for the Brazilian Disarmament Campaign) and Strategic Affairs (as Vice-Minister) Ministries from 2003 to 2009, and as Natura &Co Vice President of Sustainability and Group Affairs 

• Dr. Tilman Schachtsiek, German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture

From 2009 to 2012, in the framework of his dissertation at the Center for Development Research, Bonn, he conducted a field experiment on the suitability of different tree species to a forest abandoned saline croplands in the Khorezm Region, Uzbekistan. Later, Mr. Schachtsiek joined a company specialized in the production of Kiri trees (Paulownia s.p.) where he was in charge of the development of research projects and the management of short-rotation tree plantations in Europe. In 2015, Mr. Schachtsiek was responsible for managing the funding of international forest research projects of the German Federal Ministry for Food and Agriculture (BMEL) at the Federal Office for Agriculture and Food. In March 2016, Mr. Schachtsiek joined the division “Bioeconomy and Industrial Use of Biomass” at the BMEL where he is responsible for the implementation of the German National Policy Strategy on Bioeconomy. He holds a BSc. in “Forestry and Forest Ecology” and a MSc. in “Tropical and International Forestry” both from the University of Göttingen, Germany.

• Dr. Chantal Line Carpentier, Head of the Trade, Environment, Climate Change and Sustainable Development Branch at UNCTAD

Chantal Line Carpentier currently serves as Head, Trade, Environment, Climate Change and Sustainable Development after serving 7 years as Chief, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) New York office of the Secretary-General. Prior to 2014, as Major Groups Coordinator for the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) Division for Sustainable Development, she facilitated the engagement of and consultation with non-State actors globally in the Sustainable Development Goals negotiations and the UN Rio+20 Conference. Prior to joining the United Nations, she worked as Head, Environment, Economy and Trade Division of the North American Free Trade Agreement Commission for Environmental Cooperation (2000-2007), as policy analyst for the Wallace Institute for Alternative Agriculture (1998-2000) and as postdoctoral fellow for the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in the Brazilian Amazon (1996-1998). Dr. Carpentier obtained her PhD. in Agricultural and Environmental Economics from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, as well as both her MSc. and BSc. in Agriculture Economics from McGill University.

Find more about Amazon Week at www.amazonweek.eu

Find more about the Bioeconomy Challenge at: bioeconomychallenge.org

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