Dr Mahmoud Mohieldin: COP27 gave new hopes of international cooperation in the fields of the climate action

Sharm El-Sheikh conference was keen to confirm the emissions reduction commitments

Achieving decarbonization requires focusing on the emissions reduction measures taken by China and the developed countries

Dr Mahmoud Mohieldin, UN Climate Change High Level Champion for Egypt and UN Special Envoy on Financing 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, said COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh achieved results that exceeded the expectations in the light of the current international circumstances, and gave new hopes of international cooperation that can be built upon and taken forward in the four fields of the climate action which are adaptation, mitigation, financing, and losses and damages, adding that this will be monitored by the Member States participating in the UAE summit next year.

Mohieldin stated that the supreme national committee to supervise preparations for the next climate conference in the UAE confirmed through its president Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Emirates Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the COP28 presidency commitment to build upon the outcomes of COP27 in preparing the climate action road map and achieving climate ambitions, and this demonstrated again that the world future depends on achieving notable accumulation in the climate action fields from a COP to COP in order to save the Earth and all people.

“Crises and developments the world is going through beside the situations of the global political economy should not be ignored while evaluating the outcomes of Sharm El-Sheikh climate conference in 2022 or predicting what Emirates climate conference in 2023 will result in.

” Mohieldin said, explaining that COP27 done well by focusing on “enforcing pledges” that countries previously committed to in the previous COPs, and calling for a pragmatic approach in an integrated framework that is far away of what has been usual in some circles by reducing climate action to a handful of measures that are isolated from the goals of inclusive growth in all economy sectors and sustainable development.

Mohieldin said that outcomes of COP27 included certain measures and initiatives in an accumulative framework built on the bases established by the 2015 Paris Agreement and confirmed by the following COPs untill COP26 held in Glasgow in 2021 and what it resulted in from alliances and pledges, adding that the most important outcome of COP27 is the political, technical and negotiating success by reaching a deal to establish Loss and Damage Fund, which is unprecedented success that will always associated with Sharm El-Sheikh conference.

He confirmed that the new year until the kick off of Dubai conference will witness the following up of the establishment of the fund through the 24-members provisional committee that represents the developing and the developed countries, and will provide recommendations regarding activating and governing the fund, beside its financing sources and the priorities of directing its funds.

“Some initiatives and measures could be accounted as satisfying results of COP27, such as the launching of Sharm El-Sheikh Adaptation Agenda that cover work fields of food and agriculture, water and nature, coasts and oceans, human settlements, and infrastructures.

” Mohieldin said, referring to the establishment of the Early Warning Global System to deal with climate crisis according to the UN Secretary General initiative, and the issuing of the high-level experts report under the guidance of the UN Secretary General, stressing the necessity of following up its ten recommendations to deal with criteria and procedures relate to NetZero pledges, avoiding green washing risks, regulating sustainable financing markets for sustainable economy.

The climate champion noted that the file of energy sector just transition was highlighted during COP27 through common investments to exit fossil energy, increasing investing in renewables, and dealing with economic and social impacts of the transition process, and this came parallel to announcing the project to participate with Indonesia in 20$ billions worth “Energy Just Transition Program” financed by the program partners, following up the 8.5$ billions worth South Africa energy just transition program that have been announced in COP26, while another project for energy just transition have been announced weeks after Sharm El-Sheikh conference in Vietnam that worth 15.5$ billions with governmental and private sector participation.

“In general, in the light of dynamics and ramifications of war in Ukraine, Sharm El-Sheikh conference was keen to confirm the non-retreating of previous COPs commitments regarding harm emissions reduction, and the completion of mitigation programs according to Glasgow climate alliance outcomes.” Mohieldin stated.

Regarding finance, investment and projects developing, Mohieldin said that COP27 discussed many subjects and reached some initiatives including the launching of Africa Carbon Markets Initiative and setting its regulatory framework, activating mechanisms and pricing according to the best global practices, the reviewing of developments in financial innovation to reduce debt and swap it for investments in climate and nature in developing countries, building on the experiences of Seychelles, Belize and Barbados, and strengthen technical cooperation with international financial institutions in this regard.

Beside the commitment of insurance institutions to provide insurance coverage in Africa against climate risks at an amount of 14$ billions, according to the Nairobi Declaration, and to define its roles especially in the field of adaptation.

He said that COP27 witnessed the showcasing of the results of the Regional Roundtables Initiative launched by Egypt presidency of the conference, UN regional economic commissions and HLCs, and the issuing of a report of 50 ideal projects from all around the world in the fields of adaptation and mitigation at an investment cost of 89$ billions, beside showcasing the results of the National Initiative for Smart Green Projects in Egypt governorates to localize climate action, and making deals with some international organizations to share the learned lessons.

Mohieldin pointed also to the launch of the expert report on financing climate action and development by an independent committee chaired by the summits of Glasgow and Sharm el-Sheikh to identify funding gaps and how to bridge them from local, external, public and private sources, which includes refuting the role of the annual 100$ billion financing pledged since the Copenhagen Conference in 2009 and has not been fully met in any year.

Mohieldin stressed the necessity of following up the implementation of the specific recommendations for reforming the global financial structure to contribute to financing climate action and sustainable development, as the system followed for financing climate action and development is excessively dependent on debt instruments, and is characterized by insufficiency, inefficiency and unfairness.

Therefore, financing conditions should be defined to deal with these challenges, including that proposal regarding the possibility of providing long-term financing at a not exceeding 1 percent cost with a grace period of no less than ten years, in addition to twenty years to complete repayment, with the speedy availability of agreed financing for projects by facilitating procedures and raising their efficiency, with the need to activate partnership systems with the private sector in the race for carbon neutrality and adaptation alliances and what the GFANZ can provide for net-zero financing for investments.

Mohieldin explained that despite this effort and what has been achieved in Sharm El-Sheikh, there is importance to realizing the seriousness of the climate crisis, as according to the scientific report issued by the United Nations, there is a need to reduce harmful emissions by no less than 45 percent until the year 2030, while the world is not following on the necessary path to achieve this goal, which requires a reduction of harmful emissions by 5.8 percent to reach the goal of carbon neutrality.

He indicated that from 1980 until 2021 the best reduction achieved is 1.3 percent annually on average, which pushed the economist Nobel winner Mike Spence to call for a review of the international commitment to reducing harmful emissions, which did not yet exceed a quarter of the required effort, and this comes by focusing on what can be done by the countries of China, the United States, the European Union, Japan, India, Canada and Australia, which are all members of a group The G20 together are responsible for 70 percent of harmful emissions, and they all have the financing and technology to achieve these goals if they want to.