ClimateTech Showcase 1: Climate crisis action through cross-border collaboration and entrepreneurship

Monday 4th Dec 13.40 - 14.20 - Climate Action Innovation Zone

The first eight of our eighteen strong cohort of global climate tech companies pitched to a live and streamed audience. These rapid pitches demonstrated how their technologies and entrepreneurial mindsets can help the public sector and corporations address the climate crisis challenges and obligations, as well as provide scalable propositions for investors. This session spanned solutions from policy planning to early insect infestation warning, water offset platforms to compact urban farming systems.

With thanks to InnovateUK for their support of this session.

You can watch the individual pitches below.

ClimateTech Showcase 2: Climate crisis action through cross-border collaboration and entrepreneurship

Tuesday 5th Dec - 09:40 - 10:20 - Climate Action Innovation Zone

The second of our climate tech showcases with ten companies presenting a combination of live and recorded pitches. These rapid pitches demonstrated how their technologies and entrepreneurial mindsets can help the public sector and corporations address the climate crisis challenges and obligations, as well as provide scalable propositions for investors. This session spanned solutions from cultivated meat to drinking water infrastructure assessment, reflective panels on buildings to circular waste management platforms.

With thanks to our partners in Scottish Government, Lithuanian Government and South Australian Government for their support of this showcase.

You can watch the individual pitches below.

Ministerial engagement between Nigeria and Scotland 

Through Scotland’s co-chairing of the GovTech Global Alliance, we coordinated engagements between Scotland, Nigeria, Lithuania and South Australia. Senior Scottish Minister for Net Zero and Just Transition, Mairi McAllan met with other GGA government representatives. The first of which was Dr Iziaq Salako, Minister of State for Environment. With over 2200 Nigerian students studying in Scotland, this was an important connection to make. The Nigerian Pavilion was one of the most lively of all the Blue Zone Pavilions. As a result of this engagement, the Minister has kindly agreed to meet the two Nigerian companies part of our cohort, Agrisiti and Spunvertek. 

Ministerial engagement between Lithuania and Scotland

Lithuania and Scotland have benefited from close relations since the creation of the GovTech Global Alliance. It was great to meet up at COP28. Here Marius Skuodis (Minister for Transport and Communications, Lithuania) met with Mairi McAllan. One of the many topics of shared interest was Scotland's experience with demand responsive transport (DRT). We were delighted to reference three GSUP alumni WeMove, The Routing Company and Scipopulis.

Ministerial engagements between South Australia, Scotland and Lithuania

Martin Haese, South Australian Chair of the Premier’s Climate Council shared fascinating perspectives as former entrepreneur and elected Lord Mayor with both Mairi McAllan and, pictured here, with Lithuanian Vice Minister for Transport & Communications, Agnė Vaiciukevičiūtė.

Interview with Agnė Vaiciukevičiūtė, Vice Minister for Transport & Communications, Government of Lithuania.

At the opener of our second climatetech showcase, Alexander Holt was delighted to interview Agnė Vaiciukevičiūtė, Vice Minister for Transport & Communications, Government of Lithuania. We explored their strategies for decarbonising transport private and public in their cities, especially Vilnius, the use of electric buses as well sandbox regulations required to help innovative public private partnerships.

Panel: Modelling Resilience: Potential of “Supercomputing” Technology in Climate Research and Global Access Challenges

Friday 1st December 12:55 - 13:45 Green Zone, Technology and Innovation Hub 2

Panellists:

• Catherine Nikolovski, Civic Software Foundation

• Dr Senake Basnayake, Director of Climate Resilience, Asian Disaster Preparedness Center

• Lieutenant Colonel Giovanni Jimenez, Deputy Director Meteorology, IDEAM Colombia

• Philip Gaskin, Vice President of Entrepreneurship, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation

• Stefano Biondi, Researcher, University of Florida, Civil and Coastal Engineering Dept.

This highly experienced panel explored the role of supercomputing and how increased access to this necessary capability can help with the mitigation of climate change impact, particularly in the Global South.

Panel: How to Create Sustainable Cross-border Innovation Ecosystems through GovTech

Saturday 02 Dec 16:15 - 17:00

Blue Zone B7 (Multilevel Action and Urbanisation Pavilion (ICLEI)

Panellists:

• João Ricardo Vasconcelos , World Bank (Virtual)

• Martin Haese, South Australian Government

• Catherine Nikolovski, Civic Software Foundation

• Alexander Holt, Scottish Government

This fast moving panel covered how to develop sustainable cross-border ecosystems and the overlap between climatetech and govtech, underpinned by entrepreneurial mindset.

Really excitingly, we were able to announce the launch of the GovTech Innovation Lab - a partnership between the World Bank and GovTech Global Alliance. The GIL is an international knowledge-sharing group collaborating across public sector, private sector, NGO, and academia. You can register your interest here.

Panel: Keeping the supply chain online: How sustainable digital infrastructure is ‘mission-critical’ for climate adaption and disaster resilience

Sunday 3rd December - 14:25 - 15:00 (UTC+4)

Cat Nikolovski, Civic Software Foundation interviewed leading industry expert, Dr Tonya Thornton on the significance of proactive sustainability and resilience measures in maintaining digital infrastructure. The panel explored how these measures save critical data, support connectivity, enable rapid response, facilitate community organizing, and ultimately save lives.