Dr Mahmoud Mohieldin, UN Climate Change High Level Champion for Egypt and UN Special Envoy on Financing 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, said that the Egyptian vision of the five major regional forums that have been launched by Egypt presidency of COP27, UN economic commissions and HLCs with participation of GFANZ, reflects the trust that common regional work can overcome financing and implementing climate projects obstacles considering the current global challenges.
His remarks came during his participation in the opening session of Arab regional forum to finance climate action held by ESCWA in Beirut, with participation of Ambassador Sameh Shokri, Minister of Foreign Affairs and COP27 designated president (virtually), Dr Hala El Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development (virtually), Mohamed Maiet, Minister of Finance (virtually), Amina Mohammed, UN Deputy Secretary General (virtually), Dr Rania Almashat, Minister of International Cooperation, Rola Dashti, UN Under Secretary General and ESCWA Executive Director, beside a number of Arab ministers.
Mohieldin expressed his trust that Arab common work and cooperation between Arab countries can find solutions, overcome obstacles and achieve climate targets, expecting that the Arab forum will result in effective and applicable regional projects that are able to finance.
He said that the results of the previous three regional forums confirmed the importance of the climate action regional aspect, and the necessity of common work between countries of the same region to find the points of integration and work on it, explaining that Africa forum resulted in 19 applicable projects in the sectors of transportation, energy infrastructure, agriculture, blue economy and carbon markets, Asia and Pacific forum resulted in 20 projects to finance NDCs, make PPPs, develop finance markets and cooperate in the energy sector, while the LAC forum resulted in 4 giant projects in the fields of transportation and energy.
The climate champion highlighted the existence of climate financing initiatives such as GFANZ initiative to finance climate action by 130$ trillions, so the most important now is to set applicable and bankable projects pipelines to start negotiating about financing them, stressing that financing these projects should take the shape of partnerships and investments rather than debts that represent 62% of climate financing methods.
Mohieldin expected that the Arab forum will result in projects that are qualitatively difference and vary in different sectors, referring in this context to Egypt International Cooperation Forum and Development Financing that took place in the New Administrative Capital in September and focused on discussing nexus of water, food and energy projects and their most suitable financing tools.
“COP27 that will take place in Sharm El Sheikh next November will be a conference for solutions for climate action problems especially financing.” Mohieldin said, adding that the current climate financing is insufficient, where private sector participation doesn’t exceed 3%.
“Climate financing is insufficient, inefficient and injustice, insufficient because we need doubles of current amount of financing, inefficient because it takes too long to be negotiated until it reach the actual implementation, injustice because the most climate change vulnerable countries are asked to pay for a crisis that they don’t contribute to it, and they get the little share of finance to achieve their climate goals.” He explained.
In the end of his speech, Mohieldin asked Beirut forum to agree on effective, applicable and bankable climate projects, and enhance cooperation between all stakeholders including governments, private sector, investment banks and development partners in order to implement climate projects in a frame of a holistic approach that aims to achieve all SDGs together.
