● Al-mashat: Reaching a new climate financing framework that provides an approach to meeting annual needs amounting to $5-7 trillion by 2030.

● Harmony between the Egyptian Presidency of the Climate Conference initiative Sharm El-Sheikh Guidebook for Just Financing and other initiatives enhances the fairness of climate finance and provides a flexible path for development.

● The principles of the Sharm El-Sheikh Guidebook for Just Financing represent a guiding framework for concerned parties to adopt innovative climate financing methods and tools and enhance state ownership.

● Egypt was the first to launch a national platform based on state ownership, promotes the transition from pledges to implementation, and provides a comprehensive methodology for financing the climate agenda.

● The NWFE program is based on projects that attract investments in the areas of mitigation and adaptation to mobilize innovative financing mechanisms for climate action.

As part of her participation in the activities of the United Nations Climate Conference COP28 in the United Arab Emirates, and at the invitation of the UAE Presidency of the Climate Conference, the Minister of International Cooperation, H.E. Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat, participated in the meeting of the Independent High-Level Expert Group (IHLEG) on Climate Finance to discuss the team’s second report on the new climate finance framework. They discussed the investment gap facing developing countries and emerging economies, and the need to bridge that gap by adopting a comprehensive approach to climate financing to achieve the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement.

Al-Mashat delivered an opening statement on the current financing landscape and the way forward. The meeting was also attended by Adnan Amin, CEO of COP28, Mia Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados, and Professor Nicholas Stern, Co-Chair of COP28’s High-Level Future Experts on Climate Finance, Vera Songwe, Co-Chair of the Independent Expert Group, Amar Bhattacharya, Executive Secretary of the Future Expert Group, Odile Renaud Basso, President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD),  Alexia Latortue, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury The American Institute for International Markets, Axel van Trotsenburg, Senior Managing Director of the World Bank, and other representatives of the private sector, governments, and international institutions.

In her speech, Al-Mashat explained that in light of the importance of increasing the efficiency of the international financial system, the new framework for climate financing proposes a set of principles that are based on previous initiatives such as the Bridgetown Initiative and the new Paris Charter for global finance, providing a comprehensive approach to increase climate financing to meet annual needs of $5-7 trillion by 2030, by leveraging collective efforts to provide affordable, accessible financing to developing countries.

H.E. stressed that among the efforts made in COP27 and COP28, synergy must be strengthened between various initiatives to achieve the best results, and from this standpoint, the principles and objectives of the new framework for climate financing are linked to the initiative of the Egyptian Presidency of COP27, where the Sharm El-Sheikh Guidebook for Just Financing was published. The guidebook reinforces the idea of equitable climate finance and is defined as finance that takes into account historical responsibility for climate change while ensuring equitable access to qualitative and quantitative climate finance that supports resilient development pathways, leaving no one behind.

H.E. added that the guide identifies 12 basic principles of equitable financing, which serve as a framework to guide relevant parties to adopt innovative climate financing methods and tools that can unleash the financing required from public and private capital providers to drive the transformation required to address climate adaptation and mitigation. 

Al-Mashat referred to the fifth principle in the guidebook: Mainstream the concept of Just Financing across all financial stakeholders at national and international levels, as well as the sixth principle: Ensure the right to quality and quantity climate finance, the seventh principle: Address access, affordability, and resource allocation bias, and the eighth principle: Promote “Additionality”. These principles are actually consistent with the third principle from the new framework that stipulates encouraging the use of long-term debt instruments that reduce the debt burden and the fourth principle on: Require global stakeholders to actively consider and take progressive action to address historical disparities and responsibilities to meet climate needs.  

Al-Mashat continued, “Recognizing the importance of country ownership - which comes within Principle 5 of the new climate financing framework - in implementing just country-owned transitions, and leaving no one behind,” and Principle 6 which stresses the importance of doubling efforts in-country programs. Egypt was the first to launch a national platform that takes into account the principles previously approved by the G20, as it enhances the transition from policies to implementation. The NWFE program provides a comprehensive methodology for financing the climate agenda fairly, which constitutes an example of a practical model for the concept of mobilization platforms for climate investments based on country priorities.

H.E. stated that by adopting a practical and realistic approach, the NWFE program fills the gap related to the lack of investmentable projects through the presence of a selected group of priority projects in the fields of water, food, energy, as well as sustainable transport.

To download the follow-up report of the NWFE program in Arabic: https://moic.gov.eg/ar/news/1218 

For English: https://moic.gov.eg/news/1218