Hassan Abdullah, Hassan Abdullah, Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt and AfDB Chairperson of board of Governors said that providing the necessary financial resources to face the repercussions of climate change comes by involving the private sector and activating its vital role in this field.
He pointed out that the convening of the African Bank meetings this year coincides with the emergence of many developments and challenges at all levels, most notably the disruption in the performance of the financial sectors, the continued rise in inflationary pressures, the increasing severity of geopolitical unrest, as well as the repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic.
During his speech at the opening of the annual meetings of the African Development Bank, the Governor of the Central Bank affirmed that the African continent was not immune from these challenges, which led to increasing pressure on the economies of the countries of the continent, to widen financing gaps with the decline in the volume of international aid, the increasing debt burdens, and the increasing costs of social protection programs. All of this resulted in a decline in the ability of the governments of those countries to implement their development plans that take into account the environmental dimension in order to achieve the goal of environmental and social sustainability.
Abdullah stressed that Egypt is an integral part of these regional and international interactions, and therefore these developments and changes had a great impact on many local financial and economic data, stressing that all officials join their efforts to take all measures to limit the negative effects of these changes, which is consistent with the directives of President Sisi.
He explained that achieving development aspirations confirms the role of regional and international financing concerned with development issues within the continent, led by the African Development Bank Group, which plays a pivotal role in enhancing the confidence of private sector investors.
The Governor indicated that the African continent bears great burdens from the repercussions of climate change, as United Nations figures indicate that 75 to 250 million people in Africa have suffered from water shortage problems as a result of climate changes that threaten to reduce the rate of agricultural output that depends on rainwater. to half.
He continued: “The volume of domestic and international flows allocated to confronting climate change in Africa in 2020 amounted to only about $30 billion, which does not exceed 12% of the volume of financing required, which reflects the size of the financing gap that the countries of the continent face in this field."
Abdullah stressed the importance of encouraging the private sector to unite more environmentally friendly investments, shifting from existing investments in debt instruments to actual investments in capital, and strengthening partnership between the public and private sectors.

