Still great opportunity to advance climate action at COP27 despite Ukraine crisis: Mohieldin

Ahram Online , Saturday 5 Nov 2022

There is still great opportunity to advance climate action at the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference (COP27), set to take place in the Red Sea city of Sharm El-Sheikh 6-18 November, even after the Ukraine crisis, said UN Climate Change High Level Champion for Egypt Mahmoud Mohieldin.

Mohieldin

 

During an interview with BBC Radio earlier this week, Mohieldin highlighted the ongoing momentum and promising opportunities for investment in decarbonisation and renewable energy sources.

He stressed the need to keep up momentum in areas that are witnessing progress, in addition to supporting other areas that have not received as much attention as they should have.

The climate champion, who is also the UN special envoy on financing 2030 sustainable development agenda, also stressed the need to advance climate action based on the Paris Agreement with a holistic approach that addresses the four aspects of mitigation, adaptation, losses and damages and financing.

On adaptation, Mohieldin noted that a better job could be done in obtaining funding from the public and private sectors as well as domestic and external sources.

This can only be achieved if we realise that the reductionist approach adopted in the past will not help us, Mohieldin said. We need to join climate action with sustainable development, taking into account ongoing crises such as the Ukraine war and the COVID-19 pandemic, he added.

The climate champion also shed light on funding, referring to last year’s COP26 in Glasgow where one of the most celebrated outcomes was the $8.5 billion funding of a project related to renewable energy for South Africa to help the country phase out coal.

He added that some king of progress can be achieved if such projects are multiplied but with more commitments. He also clarified that the success of the climate summit is represented in how to translate commitments into action.

Egypt has reiterated on more than an occasion that it hopes to turn climate pledges into actions on the ground during COP27, which will be held under the theme “together for implementation.”

Egypt has also vowed to speak for Africa’s climate aspirations and push countries to fulfil their climate finance pledges.

Egypt’s vision to advance climate action at COP27 involves collaboration between governments, private sector, civil society and other stakeholders to focus on the issues of adaptation, mitigation, loss and damage and climate finance.

The upcoming climate conference is expected to feature the participation of more than 120 heads of state and over 40,000 other participants, the highest number ever for a climate summit on the continent.

Also, more than 3,000 journalists and media professionals from around the world will cover the conference.

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