A file photo of Dr Mahmoud Mohieldin. Photo: Ahram Online
Mohieldin’s remarks came during his participation in a session entitled "Sustainable Finance and Its Impact on the Future of Business" on the sidelines of “Outlook for the Economy and Finance” conference organized by the “European House-Ambrosetti”.
The session was attended by a host of influential business leaders and officials, including EU Commissioner for Environment, Oceans, and Fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevičius, and Jean-Laurent Bonnafé, CEO of BNP Paribas Group.
Mohieldin noted that governments face successive crises and shocks that make it difficult for them to finance development and climate action alone, emphasising that they need support from the private sector, civil society, and international development and finance institutions.
He stated that a combination of public-private partnerships, innovative finance tools, and debt reduction mechanisms are essential for states to achieve their goals of sustainable development.
Moreover, the climate champion called for the development of specific ESG criteria that the private sector and corporates' contributions to environmental and development action should correspond with, building on recent international reports, including the experts' report launched during COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh under the guidance of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
He highlighted the need to double international efforts to achieve climate targets, including reducing carbon emissions by half by 2030, mobilising just and adequate finance for adapting to climate change, and activating the Loss and Damage Fund launched during COP27.
According to Mohieldin, achieving sustainable development goals, including the goal of confronting climate change, requires three main elements: just and adequate finance, scientific and technological solutions for the green transition, and behavioural change on the levels of government, corporates, and institutions that serve development and climate action.
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