UN Climate Change High Level Champion for Egypt Mahmoud Mohieldin stressed the need to deal with Africa as a key partner in climate action, indicating “it is time to strengthen partnerships with the African continent in the areas of water, energy, and food, as the current funding is not sufficient.”

This came during his speech at a session titled "From pledges to implementation: Translating Financial Commitments into Opportunities in Africa" ​​held on Wednesday. 
The session was attended by Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat, UN Special Envoy on Climate Action and Climate Finance Mark Carney, Deputy Secretary-General of the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Kerry Ann Jones, and Minister of Finance and National Planning of Nigeria Zainab Shamsna Ahmed.

The session was held as part of the first day’s events of Egypt-International Cooperation Forum (Egypt-ICF 2022) and the meeting of the African Ministers of Environment, Economy, and Finance, which are being held at the New Administrative Capital from 7-9 September under the patronage of President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi.

The participation of the climate champions in this event comes within the framework of efforts to advance climate action and find innovative solutions that provide access to the necessary financing and technology, in light of the focus of Egypt’s COP27 presidency on shifting from commitments and pledges to implementation.

Mohieldin also stressed the necessity of integrating the regional dimension in climate action, referring to the launch of the unprecedented initiative to mobilise investments related to climate action through five regional roundtables to present bankable projects from developing countries that provide solutions to their climate crisis.

Mohieldin confirmed that the regional forums in Africa, Asia, and Latin America witnessed presentations of many bankable projects with the aim of attracting investments in the fields of energy, food production, and water.

He also hailed the establishment of the Africa network within the framework of  Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero Emissions (GFANZ). GFANZ Africa is to play an important role in attracting investments for climate projects in Africa, he added.

In a separate session on the same day titled "Nexus of Water, Food, and Energy," Mohieldin stressed the importance of prioritising climate projects in the food, water, and energy sectors, as global indicators refer to a high increase in demand in the three fields by 2030 by 35, 40, and 50 percent, respectively, because of the rising world population.

Mohieldin noted that half of the expected increase in the Earth’s population will be in eight countries, five of which are African, which adds challenges for developing countries to achieve sustainable development, especially after COVID-19, the war in Ukraine, and more crises that halt development tracks. Hence, he said, the African continent is in need of effective transition in the sectors of food, water, and energy that serve all of its habitants.

Mohieldin pointed to the need to adopt a comprehensive approach to advance climate action in Africa within the framework of sustainable development plans, especially in light of the African continent's suffering from climate and food crises as well as the consequences of COVID-19.

The climate champion also explained that Africa needs a huge boost in funding targeting mitigation and adaptation measures, bearing in mind that Africa contributes only about three percent of global emissions.

Africa is in need of sufficient, just, and urgent financing for all aspects of climate action to help it face climate change and avoid more losses resulting from the phenomenon, Mohieldin recently said during his participation in the leaders roundtable within the Africa Adaptation Summit, held by Global Centre on Adaptation (GCA) in cooperation with AU, African Development Bank Group, and Africa Adaptation Initiative in Rotterdam, Netherlands.

In mid-August, Egypt signed a trilateral MoU between the ministry’s Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA), the Industrial Modernisation Centre (IMC), and the Association for Sustainable Quality of Living (Estidama) to launch an award for confronting climate change in Africa.

The award, which will be presented to the winners during the COP27 in November, is meant to encourage sectors and stakeholders to follow an ecofriendly approach and mitigate the effects of climate change, the Egyptian environment ministry said at the time.

It will also encourage stakeholders to apply innovation-based initiatives in science and technology to support the measures to combat climate change and achieve the sustainable development goals.