Mohieldin made his remarks on Saturday during his virtual participation in a meeting of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) under the title of ‘Humanitarian impacts of the climate crisis: Escalating risks, challenges, and actions.’

Mohieldin said that 107 developing economies are severely exposed to one of three elements of crisis — food, energy, or finance — and 70 countries are severely exposed to all three at once.

He continued that “108 developing economies are facing new economic shocks and dangerous debt levels, with many threatened to be in default after major depreciation, and over 70 percent of poor people live in countries not eligible for concessionary financing.”

The international community must adopt a holistic approach to climate action within the context of the UN’s sustainable development goals, he said. There have been nice words and pledges to save the planet, but the focus should be on implementation, he stressed.

“The upcoming COP27 in Egypt will for the first time have five regional fora to enhance solutions in the field with a bottom-up approach,” he said, adding that developing economies still need the $100 billion promised at the COP15 in Copenhagen to allow them to avoid being burdened by more debts, according to him.