NetaCarbon at COP28: Our Key Highlights
NetaCarbon was honored to participate at COP28 in Dubai earlier this month – our co-founders were featured in various panels and pitch events, bringing NetaCarbon onto the stage of the largest climate conference in the world.
For those who are new to the climate scene, the Conference of Party (COP) is an annual gathering where UN member states come together to assess progress in dealing with climate change. For example, the Paris Agreement was negotiated and signed in COP21. In addition to the negotiations, however, COP also attracts many climate practitioners, activists, and private businesses. In recent years, it has become one of the largest gathering spaces to discuss the latest climate trends and developments.
In this blog post, we cover what NetaCarbon has accomplished during our COP28 journey. Additionally, many of our readers are keenly aware that the carbon market was a key highlight of the COP negotiation, particularly around the implementation of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. We will cover our key insights on the COP negotiations in a separate blog post. Stay tuned!
1 | IRENA NewGen Rising Star Award 2023
As one of the eight finalists of the NewGen Accelerator Program organized by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), NetaCarbon was honored to take the stage at COP28 on December 9th. Our co-founder, Mar Velasco, introduced NetaCarbon's vision and business model and answered questions from the judging panel. If you missed our live presentation, click on the video link below to rewatch our presentation!
Watch NetaCarbon’s co-founders, Mar Velasco and Grace Lam, starting from 1:37:52.
2 | ClimateTech Fast Pitch by Monash University
On December 10th, NetaCarbon’s co-founder, Grace Lam, was invited by Monash University and the Carbon Market Institute to participate in the Climate Tech Fast Pitch event, marking the first time we introduced NetaCarbon in front of an Australian audience! We appreciate the opportunity to meet with an accomplished group of climate tech entrepreneurs in an intimate setting, as well as the new connections we made in this event.
Our co-founder, Grace Lam, with other presenters, moderators, and organizers of the event.
3 | Panel on Women's Climate Entrepreneurship
Female-founded companies only received 2 percent of total VC funding in 2022, making it more important than ever to elevate women's entrepreneurship voices in conferences and events like COP28. Our co-founder, Grace Lam, participated in a panel hosted by e&, the largest telecom operator in MENA, to discuss women’s entrepreneurship in the context of accelerating corporate climate commitments. This well-attended panel was moderated by Navila Amin, Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at e&.
Our co-founder, Grace Lam, was invited to speak on women climate entrepreneurship at COP28.
4 | IRENA Panel on Youth-led Energy and Clean Tech Startups
Last but not least, Mar Velasco, our co-founder, spoke on a panel focusing on the dynamic role of youth-led startups in the renewable energy & clean technology sectors, organized by the International Renewable Energy Agency. It was refreshing to witness the increasing number of young entrepreneurs mobilizing and working on climate innovations. We are honored that NetaCarbon was recognized as an important driving force by both IRENA and the UAE Independent Climate Change Accelerators (UICCA), organizers of this panel.
Our co-founder, Mar Velasco, speaking at a panel discussing the impact of youth-led startups.
It has been a fruitful and engaging two weeks for NetaCarbon at COP28. We would like to thank all our supporters for inviting us to speak and participate in various events and introducing NetaCarbon to the broader climate community. We look forward to continuing these conversations as we progress and expand in 2024. If we missed you at COP, don’t hesitate to reach out and let us know how NetaCarbon can be helpful!