Taking priorities of developing countries into account is necessary to achieve triple transition (social, digital and green)
EU could play big role in implementing Sharm El Sheikh Adaptation Agenda, activating Loss and Damage Fund, and supporting African Carbon Markets Initiative
Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin, UN Climate Change High Level Champion for Egypt and UN Special Envoy on Financing 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, said that investing in human capital by promoting education, health and employment services is just as important as investing in infrastructure to achieve fair digital, social and green transitions.
This came during his participation in a seminar entitled “Triple Transition: Shaping international co-operation to face the digital, green, and social transitions” organized by Spain Ministry of Foreign Affairs and OECD in the framework of the Spanish presidency of the Council of the European Union, with the participation of José Manuel Albares, Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, Martin Seychell, Deputy Director-General of European Commission for International Partnerships, and a number of ministers and officials of international and regional organizations, institutions and multilateral development banks.
Mohieldin emphasized that the world needs more effort and cooperation in order to put the implementation of the sustainable development goals on the right track, explaining that overcoming climate and development action obstacles requires adequate, fair and more efficient finance, as well as cooperation between developed and developing countries with regard to knowledge sharing and providing technical support, beside the real will to achieve just transition.
Mohieldin added that achieving digital transition in a way that takes into account the social dimension and contributes to achieving environmental and climate goals requires dealing with climate finance as a sustainable development finance and not a substitute for it, strengthening national efforts at the state level in a way that supports the international effort to achieve digital, social and green transformations, as well as maximizing the role of MDBs in financing climate and development action by increasing their capital and adopting new policies for fairer financing.
In this context, Mohieldin highlighted the need to take into account debt relief in developing countries and emerging economies while financing their climate and development action, activate debt swaps for investment in nature and climate, and direct financial flows from public and private sources to the priorities of development and climate action in different countries and societies.
Mohieldin stressed the importance of communication and cooperation between North and South in developing a new global financing pact, and the need to understand and take into account the priorities of development and climate action in different countries and societies, explaining that the European Union can play a major role in implementing climate action by supporting the carbon markets in developing countries, foremost of which is the African Carbon Markets Initiative (ACMI), giving a strong impetus to the implementation of Sharm El Sheikh Adaptation Agenda (SAA) and maximize the role of the Loss and Damage Fund launched during COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh.
