UN Climate Change High Level Champion for Egypt and UN Special Envoy on Financing 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda Mahmoud Mohieldin said that COP27, which was held in Sharm el-Sheikh eyed a quantum leap in addressing climate action finance file.
A raft of initiatives were launched and finance mechanisms were activated in order not to depend on debts, added Mohieldin in a virtual seminar about the outcome of COP27 and the coming role of the private sector.
The roundtable was held by the UN Global Compact, the largest world initiative for sustainability of companies.
Mohieldin said that COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh witnessed a fundamental shift in dealing with financing climate action as some initiatives have been launched and some financing mechanisms that reduce financing climate action on debt basis have been activated.
His remarks came during his participation in the webinar “COP27 Debrief: What is next for the private sector?” held by UN Global Compact, the biggest corporate sustainability initiative that focuses on the UN principles and values, with the participation of a number of international officials.
Mohieldin stated that Sharm el-Sheikh conference aimed at emphasising the importance of reforming the international financing system to get fair and efficient finance for climate action and just transition in the frame of financing and implementing the whole SDGs, it also focused on activating innovative finance instruments that reduce financing climate action on debt basis, and bringing projects and different financing and investing entities on the same table in order to start implementing climate projects immediately.
“The conference witnessed the launching of some initiatives that enhance the countries’ capabilities of financing climate action such as the Africa Carbon Markets Initiative, it also witnessed the activation of debt swaps for co-investing in nature, the more involvement of insurance sector in financing adaptation measures, beside showcasing some of the projects that resulted from the five regional roundtables initiative that launched by Egypt presidency of COP27, UN regional economic commissions and HLCs.” Mohieldin said, adding that discussions have been done with GFANZ to finance some of these projects in Africa and Asia.
Mohieldin emphasised that the conference made a great achievement by establishing Loss and Damage Fund that its structure and work mechanisms will be set in the coming period, while it made a tangible progress regarding adaptation measures through launching Sharm el-Sheikh Adaptation Agenda that aims to achieve resilience for 4 billion people by focusing on sectors of food and agriculture, water and nature, coasts and oceans, human settlements, and infrastructures, referring to the importance of the Early Warning System Initiative proposed by the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
Regarding mitigation and decarbonisation, Mohieldin clarified that COP27 kept the goal of 1.5 degree of global warming maintained -despite challenges and complications that obstacle achieving this target- through stressing the necessity of committing to Paris Agreement.
In the end of his speech, Mohieldin confirmed the necessity of the developed countries to fulfill their pledges to finance climate action in the developing countries, and to help bridging the gap of climate finance in these countries.
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