Lincoln Institute at COP28

Land and water policy is at the heart of climate policy and essential to climate-resilient development. Lincoln Institute staff are participating in the UN’s 28th annual Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, from November 30 to December 12, to support inclusive and equitable land and water policy responses to the climate crisis.  

Lincoln Institute at the Multilevel Action and Urbanization Pavilion

This year, the Lincoln Institute is a Pavilion partner at the Multilevel Action and Urbanization Pavilion, coconvened by ICLEI–Local Governments for Sustainability and UN-Habitat. The Pavilion serves as the global hub for discourse on challenges and solutions to the interconnected issues of climate change and urbanization. Here the Lincoln Institute will focus on the intersection of equitable climate action, land use, urbanization, nature-based solutions, and finance in two sessions on the Global Event Stage and streamed live on YouTube: 

Local Solutions in Land: Multilevel Collaboration for Inclusive Climate Resilience 

December 6 at 10:00 a.m. (GMT+4) 

This event will highlight the critical role land and land policy can play in the development of inclusive, resilient communities and how collaboration and networks are essential to scaling up action. Anacláudia Rossbach, director of the Latin America and the Caribbean program at the Lincoln Institute, will moderate. Panelists include:

• Patrick Welch, policy analyst, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy (moderator)
• Lauren McLean, mayor of Boise, Idaho
• Inamara Mélo, general coordinator of adaptation, national secretariat for climate change, Brazilian Ministry of Environment and Climate Change
• Margaret Mengo, director of program operations in Africa, Habitat for Humanity International
• Laura Arévalos, community liaison and professor, Villa 20, Buenos Aires, Argentina
• Juan Carlos Cárdenas, mayor of Bucaramanga, Colombia

Toward Win-Win Outcomes for Climate and Community

December 9 at 1:00 p.m. (GMT+4) 

This event will focus on how communities—from agricultural to highly urbanized—are taking action to reduce and adapt to climate change while balancing their responses with social and economic considerations. Panelists include:

• Amy Cotter, director of climate strategies, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy
• John Farner, executive director, Babbitt Center for Land and Water Policy
• Deepthy Kanneri Balagangadharan, regional director Middle East, Green Business Certification, Inc.
• Henk Ovink, senior fellow, World Resources Institute, and commissioner, Global Commission on the Economics of Water
• Perla Lozano, manager, Tecnológico de Monterrey's Center for the Future of Cities
• Gabriel Liu, joint secretary at the Brazilian Presidency for Environment, Climate and Agriculture

Hosted by the Lincoln Institute

USG-Civil Society Gathering on Built Environment Day

December 6 at 5:00 pm (GMT +4)

Hosted by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, this meet-and-greet reception brings together representatives from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and US civil society organizations attending COP28 to discuss the critical intersections of climate, housing, transport, and the built environment in a relaxed environment.

US Government staff and members of US civil society organizations are invited to RVSP here.

Featuring the Lincoln Institute

Lincoln Institute staff will be featured in several other discussions at COP28, including:

Building Partnerships to Deliver Transformative Climate Action in Cities

December 1

Hosted by The King’s Foundation and Community Jameel, this impact-driven roundtable acknowledges the Declaration on Sustainable Urbanisation and leverages insights from Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) and The Prince's Foundation's University of Oxford-partnered research to build partnerships, raise awareness and explore evidence-based solutions towards climate action in cities.

Achieving Climate Targets in the Transport Sector: Can Renewables Pave the Way?

December 5 at 11:30 a.m. (GMT +4)

Co-developed by Asociación Sustenar, the International Union of Railways, the International Union of Public Transport, and REN21, this panel will discuss how renewables and transports can tackle global climate goals together.

Land Use in the Era of Climate Mobility: The Possibilities, Challenges, and Risks of Artificial Intelligence

December 6 at 9:00 a.m. (GMT +4)

Organized by the Global Centre for Climate Mobility and Claudia Dobles (LCAU/MIT), this panel will discuss the challenges and opportunities of introducing AI into land use planning in climate vulnerable countries and communities and its potential for helping to address climate mobility pressures in rural and urban areas.