• "Al-Mashat": Sharm el-Sheikh Guidebook for Just Financing is a full-year product of intensive work with more than 100 partners from international finance institutions, the private sector and non-profit institutions to develop a joint plan of action to promote climate action
• The manual sets out 12 key principles that serve as a framework for catalysing partnerships between relevant parties to increase climate finance, drive green transformation and achieve financing justice for developing countries
• "Sharm el-Sheikh Guidebook for Just Financing" is consistent with the objectives of the Egyptian Climate Presidency to move from pledges to implementation
During a high-level event at the COP27 Climate Conference held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Dr. Rania al-Mashat, Minister of International Cooperation, officially released the "Sharm El Sheikh Guidebook for Just Financing", which is a presidential initiative launched by the Egyptian state during the COP27 Climate Conference, hosted in Sharm el-Sheikh from November 6-18.
The launch event was attended by Mr. Tony Blair, former British Prime Minister and President of the Institute for Global Change, Mr. Akinumi Idesina, President of the African Development Bank, and Mr. Amperuez Fayuli s Development ", Vice-President of the European Investment Bank, and Mr. Mark Carney, United Nations Climate Finance Envoy and Chairman of the Glasgow Financial Alliance, GFANZ, and Mr. Axel van Trostenberg, Managing Director, Operations, World Bank Group, Ms. Khalida Bozar, Assistant Secretary-General and Director of the Regional Office for Arab States, United Nations Development Program, Mr. Jay Collins, Vice-President of Citibank, and Mr. Bo Lee International Monetary Fund Deputy Director-General, Mr. Mark Bowman, Vice-President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Seaforall, Rockerfeller and other representatives of the international community.
The Sharm el-Sheikh Guidebook for Just Financing aims to stimulate climate-related financing, strengthen multilateral cooperation efforts and international partnerships, and develop an international framework for innovative financing, in the light of the challenges that lie ahead.
The Sharm el-Sheikh Guidebook is consistent with the objectives of the Egyptian Presidency of the Climate Conference to move from pledges to implementation and promotes comprehensive partnerships to achieve a resilient and sustainable recovery, facilitate access to equitable financing, and drive relevant parties to play their respective roles on the basis of shared and differentiated responsibility, to support developing countries in their efforts to transition to a green economy.
Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of International Cooperation, stressed that in the light of the growing interest in addressing climate change and its negative consequences, the issue of climate finance has become a top concern of the international community. As the economic fallout the world faces is exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic and the Russian-Ukrainian war, developing countries and emerging economies are desperate for these financing to continue their development and climate action efforts.
The Minister of International Cooperation noted that despite the world's tremendous pledges made at the Glasgow Climate Conference, Developed countries have pledged $100 billion since 2009 to developing countries. Needs have doubled to $200 billion according to international reports and indicators. For this purpose, the "Sharm el-Sheikh Guidebook for just Financing" has been prepared to serve as a practical guide to a joint and coordinated effort with development partners to stimulate climate finance.
The Manual sets out a flexible and feasible international framework for the equitable distribution of climate finance in developing and emerging economies in general and in African countries in particular, where it relied on a participatory dynamic approach for all relevant parties. For the preparation of this manual, publications on climate finance have been reviewed to identify the current position of the climate finance landscape and to identify precisely the challenges and how the manual contributes to the consolidation and revitalization of climate finance.
It noted that the preparation of the manual was based on a participatory approach, Consultations with more than 100 relevant Parties representatives of Governments, multilateral and bilateral development partners, the private sector, commercial and investment banks, climate finance funds, think tanks and non-profit organizations and 6 working groups were launched and a development partner took responsibility for coordinating each cluster in order to formulate and draw lessons learned and practical recommendations on equitable climate finance.
Based on the importance of the COP27 Climate Conference and its specificity for the continent of Africa, which contributes only 3.8% to harmful emissions, while receiving only 5% of climate finance flows. At a time when its needs are estimated at $250 billion per year for the period 2020-2030, the Sharm el-Sheikh Guidebook for Just Financing worked to formulate recommendations aimed at stimulating climate finance on the continent of Africa and increasing investment in mitigation and adaptation projects.
The Minister of International Cooperation revealed that many development partners and international financial institutions contributed through experts and specialists in the preparation of the "Sharm el-Sheikh Guidebook for Just Financing", including (World Bank Group, African Development Bank, European Reconstruction and Development Bank, European Investment Bank, Islamic Development Bank, United Nations, Economic Commission for Africa, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Environment Programme, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, United Nations Children's Fund, International Fund for Economic Cooperation and Development "IFAD", ILO, World Economic Forum, Climate Investment Fund, Japan International Cooperation Agency, United States Agency for International Development, Italian Development Cooperation Agency s Development ", Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, London University of Economics and Political Science, Eurasia Group, Sustainable Energy for All, Microsoft, Climate Finance Advisors, Republic of Korea ", HSBC Bank, City Bank, Bloomberg Network).
12 key principles of the Sharm el-Sheikh Guidebook for Just Financing
The Sharm el-Sheikh Fair Financing is based on 12 key principles to be applied to stimulate climate finance. These principles serve as a guiding framework for stimulating partnerships between all relevant parties, particularly the public and private sectors, to drive the transition towards a sustainable green economy:
1. Support for developing countries' right to development and industrialization through equitable pathways within the framework of the Paris Climate Agreement.
2. Ensuring coherence between global climate action goals and national development goals on both the mitigation and adaptation sides.
3. Support governments' efforts to create an enabling environment by providing funding and raising technical and institutional competencies and capacities in line with the achievement of climate goals.
4. Ensuring the right of all States to development under the principle of common but differentiated responsibility.
5. Include the concept of equitable financing in the international climate finance structure and ensure that there is an implementation mechanism.
6. The right to access climate finance is guaranteed, especially in countries and regions most in need.
7. Climate finance should not be considered a substitute for development financing but should be in addition to available funding.
8. Support developing countries to provide funding to strengthen their resilience to climate change.
9. Establishing an effective governance system and establishing regulations for green markets, and activating an efficient monitoring and evaluation system.
10. Ensuring harmonization of climate finance across sectors in the light of balancing mitigation and adaptation efforts.
11. Strengthening transparency and accountability systems through the development of common standards for climate finance.
12. Enhancing coordination among all parties involved in financing, which contributes to the launching of investment opportunities in developing countries.
The manual is the first of its kind in Egypt and the region and aims to stimulate climate finance, to achieve equitable access to climate finance. The Sharm el-Sheikh Guidebook for Just Financing contributes to bridging the information gap among Governments, as well as investors, which contributes to mobilizing private capital, expanding climate investments and reducing the risks associated with climate investments in developing countries through public capital participation in financing climate action projects jointly with the sector.
The manual concludes with a workable agenda for each climate finance stakeholder to increase the efficiency and fairness of the current short-term climate finance architecture and rethink the medium- and long-term international climate finance architecture, supporting developing and emerging economies' efforts to recover from the pandemic and move towards a green economy.
For more information and a guide