Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly inaugurated on Wednesday the Finance Day at the Egyptian pavilion in the Blue Zone within the climate summit COP27.
The opening session was attended by David Malpass, President of World Bank Group; Kristalina Georgieva, Director General of the International Monetary Fund (IMF); Zainab Ahmed, Minister of Finance of Nigeria; Mahmoud Mohieldin, UN Special Envoy for Financing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development; Mark Carney, UN Special Envoy for climate action and finance; Odile Renaud Basso, President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development; Achim Steiner, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); and a number of experts in climate finance.
In his speech, the Egyptian Prime Minister pointed out that there is interdependence between financial policies and climate issues, which in turn affects the resources of countries, especially developing ones, and consequently the level of financial resources available to governments.
It had become a critical factor in supporting climate change efforts at both the mitigation and adaptation levels.
Solidarity among all parties has become an indispensable option, as cooperation between governments, civil society, UN agencies and international and regional financial institutions, on an integrated and coordinated path, is the shortest and least expensive way to reach the success of efforts to address climate change, Madbouly said.
He noted Egypt’s keenness as the president of the conference to prepare well for the meetings through an intensive program that includes discussions on various topics related to innovative financing initiatives, encouraging the private sector to turn to a green economy, and to achieve a just transition that achieves social and economic dimensions.
These efforts should not add more burden to the citizens, especially in developing countries, who bear no responsibility for disasters caused by climate change, he said,
He expressed the hope that the partners in the developed countries would realize the necessity to fulfil their previous commitments in this regard.
Madbouly said that the world is witnessing an unprecedented series of global crises with multiple effects, since 2019, humanity has been confronted with the outbreak of the coronavirus, followed by the economic shock caused by the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and the increase in the prices of food and energy.
As a result, inflation rates have risen in all the world’s economies, leading to a marked slowdown in world economic growth and increasing humanitarian problems and protracted crises.
“Finding a way out of this situation requires global solidarity that places the interest of humanity above all other considerations,” he reiterated
Madbouly stated that, in that spirit, the success of the Finance Day discussions depended on the collective capacity to deliver serious, effective and actionable initiatives.
The Egyptian Ministry of Finance was cooperating with partners to formulate two initiatives, discussed on Wednesday, on facilitating debt swaps for climate change and reducing the cost of green borrowing, in line with the Paris Convention and the Glasgow Outcome, specifically on financing adaptation.
He said Egypt hopes that these initiatives will be translated into serious commitments, along with other ideas that the participants may put forward, to positively influence and help provide additional resources to developing countries, especially African countries, on whose behalf Egypt is hosting the conference.
“It has become clear that the economic future of the planet is in great danger unless we can ensure that all economies respond in concert against the constant change in our climate”, he pointed
He explained that estimates suggest that about 4% of the annual global economic output could be lost by 2050, with low- and lower-middle-income countries likely to face such losses.
Significant financial resources were needed to reduce the impact of climate change on our planet, and that figure could increase if action was not taken and the necessary measures and policies implemented to mitigate the climate crisis were not implemented. prime minister added.
He pointed out that despite these facts and the efforts made over the years of pledges and promises as well as frameworks and mechanisms, climate finance has not been sufficient in quantity and quality, with commitments that have not been realized at a time when economies need better and easier access to the financing needed to mitigate and adapt to the climate crisis facing our world.
African countries in particular were facing enormous challenges in that area, especially with the continuing economic crisis, high interest rates and limited access to international borrowing markets.
This makes it difficult for African countries to raise the necessary funding to protect their environment and economies from the threat of climate change.
He confirmed Egypt’s serious readiness to discuss all ideas and initiatives aimed at achieving a leap in climate finance efforts, in line with our leadership in international climate action as president of COP27.
He concluded that finance is the cornerstone for fulfilling national commitments towards the transition to a green economy, and that the current situation of the global economic crisis and the challenges it poses are key points that must be discussed and resolved, including the need to achieve a balance between adaptation and mitigation,
He pointed out that Tuesday witnessed the signing of a number of financing agreements within the “NWFE” programme, which included a number of projects in a number of different sectors, as the platform is considered an important step towards starting the implementation of commitments towards climate action, as well as within the national strategy for climate change.
