Dr. Mohieldin: Developing countries can implement climate action by integrating it with various sustainable development goals

Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin:

Developing countries can only implement climate action by integrating it with various sustainable development goals

Calling for strengthening the international effort to confront climate change will not be useful without the participation of developed countries in financing and implementing climate projects in various countries

Egypt launched initiatives for climate action and expressed its readiness to transfer its experience to developing countries to benefit from it

Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin, UN Climate Change High Level Champion for Egypt and UN Special Envoy on Financing 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, stressed that developing countries and emerging markets can only implement climate action by integrating it with other sustainable development goals within a framework of a holistic approach.

This came during his participation in a session organized by the Sustainable Development Center of the American Brookings Institution entitled “The Keys to Climate Action: How Developing Countries Achieve Global Success and Local Prosperity?”.

Mohieldin said that achieving climate goals requires working in parallel with combating poverty, providing job opportunities and providing water and energy sources for all. Achieving climate goals also requires expanding the vision of developed countries with regard to investing in climate and development action to include investment in development and climate projects in developing countries, while seriously dealing with some important files such as just transition and its impact on societies, and finance priorities in different countries.

Mohieldin explained that the call to strengthen the international effort to confront climate change would not be useful without the participation of developed countries in financing and implementing local and regional climate projects in various countries, pointing out that Egypt, for example, launched initiatives and plans for climate and development action and mechanisms for its financing and implementation, then presented these initiatives and models to the world at COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh. It also expressed its readiness to cooperate with international and regional organizations and governments of various countries to transfer this experience to developing countries to benefit from it.

Mohieldin stated that addressing the climate crisis requires adequate and equitable finance, the availability of technology and knowledge exchange, and leadership that drives the effective implementation of climate action, explaining that leadership here is not limited to governments, but also includes business sector, localities and other actors.

Speaking about financing development action as a whole, and climate action in particular, Mohieldin said that financing development and climate action is insufficient,inefficient, unfair and unbalanced, insufficient because climate action needs more than ten times what developed countries pledged at the Copenhagen Climate Conference to finance climate action in developing countries annually and -however- this has not yet been fully met. It is inefficient given the long period of negotiation between countries and financing institutions, which takes three years or more. Unfair because developing countries are forced to borrow to implement climate projects to address a crisis that was not caused by them in the first place, and unbalanced given the utmost importance of the climate change adaptation process in developing countries, especially in Africa, while the financing allocated for this process does not exceed 15% of climate finance in these countries.

In this regard, Mohieldin noted proposals to reduce the cost of borrowing to finance development and climate action in developing countries, which include setting an interest rate not exceeding 1% with long-term repayment and grace periods.

Mohieldin stressed that climate change will have a negative impact on lives and livelihoods, pointing out that United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres recently stressed the imperative need to do three things: halve carbon emissions, redouble efforts with regard to financing adaptation to climate change, and strengthening cooperation in dealing with the file of loss and damage resulting from this phenomenon.

Mohieldin highlighted the importance of enhancing investment in the three dimensions of climate action that represent the lines of defense in the face of climate change, namely mitigation, adaptation and loss and damage, explaining that emission mitigation measures are witnessing an acceptable flow of funds, which is also needed for climate change adaptation measures, especially that Sharm El Sheikh Adaptation Agenda has already identified areas of action that are investable and bankable in the sectors of agriculture and food, water and nature, coasts and oceans, human settlements, and infrastructure, and the loss and damage caused by climate change can be better dealt with through investments and the implementation of projects that help to reduce them.