Intensel, a leading global climate risk analytics company, has been named as one of three top winners of the global COP28 UAE TechSprint at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai.
Organised by the COP28 Presidency, the Central Bank of the UAE, the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) and the Emirates Institute of Finance (EIF), the TechSprint was a global call for innovative technology solutions in the lead up to COP28 to scale up sustainable finance and climate action.
Intensel’s selection for the top award among 126 submissions from 31 countries highlights the strength and potential of its solution to provide high-quality climate analytics needed for risk assessment and climate change adaptation.
Dubai, 4 Dec 2023 - Intensel Limited, a leading provider of climate risk analytics based in Hong Kong and Singapore, announces that it has won the top award for the COP28 TechSprint, a global call leading up to the COP28 global climate summit to fast-track innovative technology solutions for green and sustainable finance.
Launched in September 2023, the COP28 TechSprint – organised by the COP28 Presidency, the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE), the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the Emirates Institute of Finance (EIF) – attracted 126 proposals from private and public sector entities across 31 countries to bring forward best-in-class technology solutions to address challenges in sustainable finance. Innovators submitted proposals to the following categories that included:
Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions for sustainable finance reporting, verification, and disclosure in the financial services industry.
Blockchain solutions for auditing and enhancing transparency, traceability, and accountability in sustainable finance.
Internet-of-Things and sensor technology solutions for sustainable finance to ensure informed assessments of impact, risk, or compliance.
Intensel’s solution was selected as the overall winner under the AI category by an independent panel of experts following shortlisting and evaluation. Intensel’s climate risk platform, which uses advanced artificial intelligence and modelling techniques to extract, quantify and visualise climate hazard and risk information at highly granular spatial resolutions while integrating a range of data sources, impressed the judges with its novelty, feasibility and scalability.
"We are honoured and delighted to receive this prestigious award, which recognises the strength of our technology in enabling financial institutions and organisations to quantify their climate-related financial risks effectively, and ultimately in accelerating global efforts on climate change adaptation and adaptation finance. We look forward to collaborating with the organisers and stakeholders in the finance sector to expand the reach of our solution," said Dr Entela Benz, CEO and Founder of Intensel.
Dr Benz was presented the award on Monday (4 Dec 2023) at the COP28 climate summit by His Excellency Khaled Mohamed Balama, Governor of the Central Bank of the UAE, in the presence of a global audience of policymakers, regulators and financial institutions. Intensel will also receive a cash prize of AED 220,000 (approximately USD 60,000) from the Central Bank of the UAE.
According to the latest 2023 UNEP Adaptation Gap Report, current adaptation finance flows are estimated at only US$21 billion – less than 10% of the estimated adaptation finance needs per year. Beyond meeting disclosure requirements for climate-related financial risks – such as the emerging International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) global standards, Intensel looks forward to working with institutions, asset owners and public sector entities with its solutions to measure and manage risks due to climate-related events and to enable long-term adaptation and resilience planning on any physical asset globally.