Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin: compendium of 50 regional projects underway ahead of COP27
Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin, UN High Level Climate Change Champion for Egypt and the UN Special Envoy on Financing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, stressed that the five regional forums and the resulting projects are an actual translation of the Egyptian presidency’s vision for the upcoming Climate Summit in Sharm El-Sheikh, which Focuses on implementation and practical application.
Mohiedin made his remarks during the opening session of Europe and Central Asia Regional Forum for Climate Action, held in Geneva by Egypt’s presidency of the 27th UN Conference on Climate Change (COP27) and the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).
The climate champion added that the work plan from now until the climate summit includes preparation of a summary of 50 projects selected for presentation at COP27 in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement, with ten projects for each region.Meanwhile, another 100 promising projects will be presented through the official websites of the conference and the climate champions.
The climate champion also recommended that all regional economic commissions share data on these projects, in addition to submitting a recommendation to the Egyptian Presidency of the Climate Summit to share such data. Mohieldin also noted that a number of these projects will be supported by the $130 trillion Glasgow Race to Zero Alliance (GFANZ). In the same context, Mohieldin affirmed the commitment of the Climate Champions to support these projects through the participation of investors, multilateral development banks and all stakeholders. He also pointed out that the Climate Champions agenda will constitute a number of events starting from the third day of the Climate Summit.
The climate champion highlighted the importance of convening these five regional forums, which discussed sustainable management, data transparency and climate transition, in addition to coming up with a number of good and specific recommendations.
Mohieldin added that these projects will be followed up with the relevant investment banks, which have expressed interest in exploring more projects.He also expressed his happiness that there are some good indications regarding some projects and linking them to appropriate funding, and this is one of the main objectives of these regional forums.
Mohieldin also indicated that these regional forums were able to meet the expectations of the investment community and the private sector, noting that these projects were on the agenda of the last meeting of the GFANZ Africa Network.
Mohieldin stressed that the implementation and operation of these projects will be followed up after the Climate Summit to ensure that they continue on the right track. Mohieldin concluded his speech by thanking the Secretary-General of the United Nations, as well as the various governments and ministries that were keen to participate in regional forums and choose appropriate projects.
The event is the fifth regional forum ahead of COP27, which is slated to be held 6-18 November in the Egyptian Red Sea city of Sharm El-Sheik.
Previous roundtables were held in Addis Ababa, Bangkok, Santiago and Beirut.
The roundtables were held with the aim of enhancing the regional dimension of climate action, finding the best applicable, bankable and investable projects, and mobilising sufficient finance for these projects.