● H.E. Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat: Strengthening multilateral cooperation, especially with the private sector and philanthropic organizations, supports the implementation of the climate and development agenda.
● There is a need to address the financing disparities for development and climate efforts, particularly in Africa.
● Current global challenges have shown the paramount importance of expanding adaptation projects.
● The Sharm El-Sheikh Guidebook for Just Financing provides a practical actionable agenda to enhance the role of stakeholders in increasing climate investments.
The Minister of International Cooperation and Governor of Egypt at the World Bank Group (WBG) , H.E. Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat participated in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the NDC Partnership on “Greening the Financial Sector: Needs and opportunities of developing countries and the role of development co-operation”, which was held within the framework of the 2022 Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) & the WBG in Washington.
This session also included Matthew Samuda, Jamaica’s Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation and Co-Chair of the NDC Partnership; Graham Stuart, Member of Parliament for Beverley and Holderness and Minister for Climate of the United Kingdom; and moderated by Haje Schütte, Senior Counselor and Head of Financing for Sustainable Development Division at the OECD.
Al-Mashat said that sustainable development and climate action have become a major part of any country's development agenda, explaining that Egypt is launching its national strategies with multilateral and bilateral development partners based on this approach, intertwining climate and development.
The Minister indicated that the war in Europe and the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic pose major challenges to development efforts, the most important of which is the financing disparities. As an example, Africa only received $19 billion worth of development financing to support its development and climate actions efforts, while $250 billion is needed to find the NDC implementation gap.
Al-Mashat also pointed to the disparity between mitigation and adaptation projects, where adaptation projects receive only 20% of the financing. However, the current successive crises reflected that food and water security are indispensable priorities, required to build resilience to future shocks.
Moreover, Al-Mashat stressed that no government is capable of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and climate action alone, but rather global cooperation, including governments, private sector, and philanthropic organizations, is needed.
The Minister explained that over the past period, the Sharm El-Sheikh Guidebook for Just Financing was prepared in cooperation with about 70 development partners, international financial institutions, and commercial and investment banks, and will be launched on Finance Day in COP27. Al-Mashat elaborated that the guidebook aims to develop a practical framework to achieve integration among all relevant parties in terms of climate finance, to enhance the availability of development finance in developing countries and to utilize it through investment opportunities in environmentally friendly sectors by determining an action plan and operational measures that can be implemented by all parties. This falls within the framework of Egypt’s COP27 presidency, under the slogan “from pledges to implementation.
The Minister also discussed Egypt’s Country Platform for the NWFE Program, a nexus of water, food and energy projects, aiming to accelerate the pace of inclusive and sustainable development, while also mobilizing climate finance and private sector investments that support the green transition; all within the National Strategy for Climate Change 2050 and the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
Al-Mashat added that the NWFE Program reflects the objectives of the Egyptian COP27 Presidency, which is to move from pledges to implementation by progressing on the climate action agenda, and by mobilizing development funds in priority sectors namely, water, food and energy.
This workshop was held to look into the following themes: the relevance of greening financial sectors for mobilizing private sector investment; enabling developing countries to develop towards a green transition; and ensuring access to finance and financial inclusion to build resilience.
It is worth noting that the NDC Partnership brings together more than 200 members, including over 115 developed and developing countries, and more than 80 institutions to promote actions aimed at achieving climate ambitions, in line with the Paris Agreement and the SDGs.