Mahmoud Mohieldin, UN climate change high level champion for Egypt
Mohieldin's remarks came during his participation in a seminar co-hosted by the American University in Cairo (AUC) and UNICEF on Thursday under the title “The Road to COP27: Shifting Behaviours to Address Climate Change in Egypt,” in cooperation with the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab Middle East and North Africa (J-PAL MENA).
The session was attended by Jeremy Hopkins, UNICEF Representative in Egypt; Dr. Ali Abu Sunna, CEO of the Environmental Affairs Agency; and Ahmed Dalal, President of the American University in Cairo.
In his speech, Mohieldin stressed the need to adopt a more comprehensive and holistic approach that achieves equity in adapting to and mitigating the consequences of climate change, in addition to dealing with losses and damages that affect life and livelihoods. This is in addition to providing the necessary financing stipulated in the Paris Agreement.
The climate champion also pointed to the need to move from commitments to implementation, explaining that the pledge made at Copenhagen in 2009 to provide $100 billion annually by 2020 to support climate action in developing countries represents only three percent of the needs of those countries.
Mohieldin stressed the need to integrate the regional dimension into climate action in light of the pioneering initiative launched by the Egyptian presidency of COP27 in cooperation with the United Nations regional committees and climate champions to mobilise climate finance through five regional forums. The outcomes of these forums, which were held over the summer, are scheduled to be presented at the upcoming climate summit in Sharm El-Sheikh.
On the other hand, Mohieldin referred to the localisation of climate action in Egypt through the National Initiative for Smart Green Projects under the auspices of the Egyptian president. He also indicated that the Egyptian government aims to hold this competition annually in all governorates.
With regard to financing, Mohieldin stressed the need to set specific criteria for sustainable financing and support carbon markets in line with the needs of developing countries, in addition to linking countries' budgets to development plans.
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