Dr Mahmoud Mohieldin, UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for Egypt and UN Special Envoy on Financing 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, said that the results and outcomes of COP27 pave the way to a successful edition of COP in UAE in regards to pushing climate action and achieving climate targets.
His remarks came during his participation in the Global Energy Forum held by Atlantic Council in Abu Dhabi, with the participation of Dr Yasmine Fouad, Minister of Environment, Francesco La Camera, Director-General of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), and Damilola Ogunbiyi, CEO of "Sustainable Energy for All" and the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy.
Mohieldin stated that Egypt and UAE will work together to enhance international climate action through building on what have been achieved in the COPs of Glasgow and Sharm El-Sheikh.
Mohieldin explained that the Sharm El-Sheikh conference succeeded in keeping the goals of decarbonization, besides achieving notable progress in the adaptation file by launching Sharm El-Sheikh Adaptation Agenda that its implementation depends strongly on the public and private sectors partnerships.
"The establishment of Loss and Damage Fund is the most important result of COP27 that represents a success for the diplomacy of Egypt presidency of the conference and all climate action negotiations parties," Mohieldin said, adding that the UN Secretary-General praised this achievement as a great diplomatic success.
Mohieldin highlighted the importance of finance for all previously mentioned aspects of climate action, explaining that mobilizing finance and investments and directing them to the right climate action could be achieved through focusing on local, regional, and international aspects.
He noted that the local aspect means financing efficient climate projects, referring -in this context- to the National Initiative for Smart Green Projects in Egypt that helped drawing an investments map in all governorates through a national contest for the best green and smart projects in each governorate.
Regarding to the regional aspect, Mohieldin pointed to the five regional roundtables initiative held by Egypt presidency of COP27, UN regional economic commissions, and HLCs, saying that the initiative resulted in a number of very special and various projects that reflect the regional priorities and represent promising opportunities of investment and financing.
"Internationally, it is not enough anymore to talk about the $100 billion pledged by developed countries at the Copenhagen conference. According to a study conducted by High-level experts under the leadership of Vera Songwe and Nicholas Stern, climate action requires $1 trillion annually until 2025 and then $2.4 trillion until 2030."
Mohieldin said, adding that financing climate action requires activating debt reduction mechanisms and debt swaps for co-investing in nature and climate, activating carbon markets, and the adoption of soft criteria by the development banks and finance institutions.
Mohieldin noted that there is a big interest in investing in renewables, stressing that this interest should be met with a role of international financing entities and development banks to help governments in reducing energy projects risks and -therefore- encouraging private sector participation.
The climate champion confirmed the necessity of unifying climate action efforts, saying that the high cost of climate action is lower than the cost of treating damages of climate change.
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