Beyond Climate: BBVA Addresses Social Challenges at COP31
The climate transition poses not only the challenge of reducing emissions, but also that of adapting jobs, preparing young people for new opportunities and facilitating access to entrepreneurship. These social challenges will be addressed at COP31, where BBVA, the summit’s global bank, will hold three meetings on a just transition, climate education and green entrepreneurship.
COP31, which will take place in Antalya (Türkiye) will dedicate November 14 to children, youth, education and skills, while November 18 will focus on human and social development and gender equality. The summit’s social agenda will therefore address the impacts of climate change on people, as well as opportunities for adaptation, training and employment.
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Adapting jobs to the effects of climate change
A just transition entails not only training workers for new jobs, buy also means adapting existing jobs to the effects of climate change. Extreme temperatures, flooding and air pollution can affect occupational health and safety, as well as disrupt work schedules and productivity. These challenges will be discussed at the meeting ‘Better Jobs in a Changing Climate: From Employee Protection to Labor Resilience’ on November 14 at 11:00 AM. It will take place at the BBVA Pavilion in the Green Zone.
The panel will analyze how companies can adapt working conditions through changes in hours, improvements to facilities and new security protocols. It will also examine how to protect workers from the economic consequences of climate risks. The role of financing in facilitating these investments will also be discussed, especially for small and mid-sized companies, as well as how to evaluate their results.
Confirmed participants include Moustapha Gueye, Director of the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Priority Action Programme on Just Transitions; Remco Fisher, representative of the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI); and Ozgur Altun, Director of Sustainability at ICMA.
Education and skills for an inclusive transition
Education also plays a role in the climate transition. In addition to expanding access to education, the challenge is to prepare young people to understand climate change and acquire the skills needed to participate in economic and labor changes. This will be the main focus of the meeting ‘Financing the Green Generation: Education, Skills and Opportunities for an Inclusive Transition,’ which will take place on November 14 at 12:00 PM.
Discussions will cover how to integrate climate education into the various stages of education, improve teacher training and combine technical expertise with skills like critical thinking. It will also explore how to direct educational funding to improve the quality of teaching and facilitate access to work opportunities, especially for young people with the greatest economic and educational difficulties.
The session will open with remarks from Andreas Schleicher, Director for Education and Skills at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Speakers will include Guilherme Canela de Souza Godoi, from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and Paolo Marchi, UNICEF Representative in Türkiye. The session will be moderated by Lidia del Pozo, Head of Inclusive Growth and Community Investment at BBVA.
Green entrepreneurship and access to financing
Green entrepreneurship represents another pathway for young people to participate in the climate transition by developing solutions in areas such as energy, mobility and the circular economy or adaptation to climate change. However, turning an idea into a business requires knowledge, guidance, contacts and access to financing. These issues will be discussed on November 14 at the meeting ‘The Climate Generation in Action: Young Entrepreneurs Building the Transition,’ which will be held at the BBVA Pavilion in the Green Zone at COP.
The meeting will analyze the challenges young entrepreneurs face – from launching their projects fighting climate change to scaling them – with a special focus on reaching their first customers, validating solutions and securing financing. Participants will discuss the support mechanisms needed to build these companies and expand opportunities for green entrepreneurship among young people, with varying backgrounds and resources.
The session will feature Kirsten Dunlop, CEO of Climate KIC, who will provide context on the current state of youth climate entrepreneurship. Other participants will include Mehmet Ertan Uygun from the Turkish company Getmobil and Clay Dumas, Founding Partner at Lowercarbon Capital. The session will be moderated by Cenk Nazli, Director, Mass Customer and Product Management at Garanti BBVA.
Social development and gender equality
On November 18, COP31 will dedicate a day to human and social development, with gender equality, a just transition and climate change adaptation as some of the key topics. The program features discussions of how to expand adaptation measures in vulnerable contexts, including a United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) session on nature-based solutions that can also contribute to peace in fragile territories.
The event will help to broaden the summit’s social focus to include the communities most exposed to climate change. BBVA’s participation will focus on analyzing challenges in rural areas, women’s entrepreneurship and the effects of climate change on women.
Overall, the meetings will explore the role of financing in addressing the social challenges of the climate transition – from job adaptation to education and entrepreneurship. The discussions on November 14 and 18 will focus on the needs of different groups and the measures that can help them adapt to the economic and climate changes.