Mohieldin made his remarks while participating in the jury of the National Initiative of Green and Smart Projects.

The success of the initiative is demonstrated, he said, by the mapping of investments in green and smart projects across the country’s governorates.

The initiative was launched in August by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, who placed it under the supervision of Minister of Planning and Economic Development Hala El-Said and Ambassador Hisham Badr, the coordinator of the initiative.

Madbouly also assigned Mohieldin as the initiative’s jury chairperson, which is responsible for selecting winning projects.

Mohieldin, who is also the UN special envoy on financing 2030 sustainable development agenda, noted that the winners would be announced on 3 November.

He added that the day would also be an opportunity to inform local, regional and international entities about the initiative, its mechanisms, goals, philosophy and outcomes.

He said the upcoming 2022 UN Climate Change Summit (COP27), set to be held 6-18 November in Sharm El-Sheikh, is the starting point for real development and climate action in Egypt.

A year of hard work on development and climate projects awaits Egyptians, he said, adding that the initiative proves to the whole world Egypt’s effective contribution to the global climate effort.

The climate champion confirmed that the initiative will continue to be held in the coming years and could be enlarged to include more categories such as the newly re-emergent cooperatives sector.

The initiative is part of Egypt’s National Climate Change Strategy 2050, and it will chart a map for each governorate's smart green projects, connecting them with funding agencies and attracting the necessary investments. It is also tightly linked to Egypt’s 2030 Vision, which means that it is not a temporary measure.

The initiative’s goal is to localise sustainable development and investment in all of Egypt's cities and villages, according to previous remarks by Mohieldin.

The initiative covers six categories of projects: megaprojects; medium projects; small and local projects, especially those related to Decent Life presidential initiative; startups; non-profit social initiatives and development projects related to women, climate change and sustainability.

A total of 6,281 projects across the six categories have been registered. The jury will select the best six projects in each governorate (one for each category), which will be presented in the final stage. In the final stage, the jury will pick the best three projects in each category, for a total of 18 winners.

In addition, each governor will each pick one project to represent their governorate.