The COP: Cool or a ‘Has Been’?
In conversation with Abir Lemseffer.
To paraphrase Joseph Nye, Abir is a ‘tri-athlete’ of COP. She has contributed to the organisation of COP22 in Marrakech whilst working for the Moroccan government. She has successfully launched, and has led ever since, the initiative for the Adaptation of African Agriculture (AAA). The AAA initiative gathers 30 African governments, 10 development finance institutions, and just as many NGOs and scientific organisations to channel climate finance to agricultural projects in Africa and advocate for the importance of agriculture in climate regulation. She went on to become Azura’s Deputy CEO and lead the firm’s commitment to become carbon neutral. Six years into this journey, she casts a critical look at what has been achieved and what remains to be done.
Tusker Club - What outcome do you hope for COP27?
Abir Lemseffer - Quite frankly, I don’t expect much. Simply because there is a discrepancy between markets and governments’ efforts and timing. The IPCC and Paris Agreement have created momentum and set clear targets. Markets and civil society ran with it, while there is still a lot of uncertainty and unknown regarding governments’ actions to make their commitment concrete.
Carbon markets are a good example. In B2B and finance, there is a lot of pressure to come up with ambitious climate strategies, while many consumers trade off climate change impact for purchasing power. In turn, the Science-Based Targets initiative helps us identify where to focus our mitigation and adaptation efforts. However, it is very expensive to compensate for our emissions (carbon price has tripled in a year) because there are not enough projects to fund, andgovernments struggle to curb deforestation.
TC - What is your perspective on COP as a process?
AL - When I got involved in the organisation of COP22, I had little knowledge of climate negotiations and, truth be told, of the impact of climate change. Getting immersed at the highest level has given me enough awareness to build coalitions with the initiative for the Adaptation of African Agriculture to climate change and to take action as Deputy CEO of Azura. However, as I attended COP summits in the spring and fall, I started to wonder about the relevance of large costly events, gathering tens of thousands of people, with few actually taking part in negotiations. The irony is not lost on anyone.
Though they have yet to be refined, COVID has shown that alternatives exist. Hence, besides much needed acceleration on the definition of technical processes to implement the Paris Agreement, I would be in favour of a ‘meta process’ to rethink the organisation of climate negotiations altogether, questioning the frequency of summits, participants, etc. The distinction but synchronisation of technical and political discussions is a real challenge. The objective should be to strike the right balance between maintaining momentum, raising awareness, facilitating implementation, ensuring accountability, managing costs, and... the environmental footprint.
TC - You were new to this 6 years ago; what would be your advice to CEOs getting involved in COP for the first time?
AL - When we launched the AAA initiative, our mindset was already influenced by the private sector: with a project-based, result-driven approach, where responsibility is shared between project holders (governments or private sector) and climate / development finance institutions. I still believe in this approach even though accountability is difficult to enforce with public and international stakeholders. To ‘newbies’, I would give a word of caution: the difference between COP and the private sector is not bureaucracy per se, it is timing. Civil society expectations do not accelerate change the same way the market does.
I would still recommend getting involved with COP if it can raise awareness within one’s company or stakeholder groups. However, if the CEO already has a climate strategy in place, then showing up (or showing off!) at COP shouldn’t be a priority.
TC - What is something you find fascinating or inspiring about COP?
AL - In hindsight, COP has driven change relatively quickly. The Paris Agreement has been reached in 20 years, and the IPCC has set standards for the objectivation of discussions on global goods. Before the 1992 Rio Summit, the environment was an expert discussion, and COP has managed to make it a political discussion and a top priority for many CEOs. Now, its challenge may well be to reinvent itself, tapping into the ambitious, and perhaps somewhat rebelliousspark that made it successful. We want COP to become cool again, not just some ‘has been’.
Interview by Baptiste Raymond - 11/2022