Dr.Mohieldin in COP28: Debt Swaps are Important for Financing Climate Action in Developing Countries

Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin, UN Climate Change High Level Champion for Egypt and UN Special Envoy on Financing 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, said that it is important to activate debt swaps as a mechanism to finance climate and development action in developing countries.

During his participation in a session entitled "A Dialogue on the Ubuntu Initiative: Using Debt to Finance Climate Adaptation" at COP28 in Dubai, Mohieldin stated that just and effective financing of climate and development activities in developing countries entails reducing dependence on debt and adopting new policies for concessional finance.

He explained that closing the climate finance gap in developing countries estimated at $2.4 trillion annually requires mobilizing financing from domestic resources and reforming IFIs and MDBs by increasing their capital so that they can play their role towards financing climate and development action.

Mohieldin noted the Bangladesh platform for financing mitigation and climate adaptation activities as a model for the required partnerships between governments, the private sector, IFIs and MDBs, emphasizing the need to link countries' public budgets to the SDGs.

In a session on the "Sharm El Sheikh Adaptation Agenda", Mohieldin stressed the need to accelerate the implementation of the agenda, whose main areas of action contribute to the implementation of a number of SDGs related to food and water security, protection of marine life, the green transition of cities and enhancing the resilience of infrastructure.

He said that the contribution of the private sector to financing climate adaptation does not exceed 3%, confirming the need to strengthen the participation of the private sector in financing and implementing adaptation activities, and adopting technological solutions in achieving climate change adaptation goals.

Mohieldin stated that achieving climate goals requires promoting efforts at the local and regional levels to support the global effort in this regard.