Mahmoud Mohieldin: COP27 made significant progress regarding L&D and adaptation to climate change

Dr Mahmoud Mohieldin, UN Climate Change High Level Champion for Egypt and UN Special Envoy on Financing 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, said that COP27 that held in Sharm El-Sheikh made significant progress regarding the file of loss and damage resulted from climate change, beside achieving tangible progress in pushing adaptation measures forward.

Mohieldin stated, during his virtual participation in We Don’t Care Exhibition and Conference, that COP27 succeeded in bringing back the loss and damage file to the priorities of the international climate action agenda in a way that resulted in establishing L&D Fund that developed and developing countries will both participate in it, announcing that a number of meetings are expected to be held in the coming period to discuss the structure of the fund and it’s work mechanisms, referring -in this context- to the Early Warning System Initiative proposed during the conference by the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres as an important initiative regarding L&D file.

“COP27 made tangible progress regarding the importance of reforming the international financing system in a way that helps achieving climate targets in the frame of achieving the whole SDGs, it also made progress in terms of adaptation measures through launching Sharm El-Sheikh Adaptation Agenda that aims to achieve resilience through projects in the sectors of food and agriculture, water and nature, coasts and oceans, human settlements, and infrastructures, with focusing on factors of finance and planning.” Mohieldin said, adding that the agenda is a result of a common effort of Egypt presidency of COP27 and UN HLCs.

The climate champion stated that COP27 succeeded in maintaining the already set goals regarding mitigation and decarbonization measures through confirming the importance of committing to the Paris Agreement and sticking to achieving 1.5 degree goal of global warming.

Mohieldin stressed the necessity of bridging the finance gap to ensure that all climate action aspects get implemented, explaining that the developing countries and emerging markets need 1$ trillion annually to finance mitigation measures until 2025, and 2.4$ trillion annually until 2030.

He emphasized the importance of the developed countries to fulfill their Copenhagen pledge to finance climate action in the developing countries by 100$ billions annually in order to pave the way to fulfill more commitments, highlighting the necessity of reducing financing climate action in the developing countries on debt basis, activating initiatives that enhance the capabilities of financing such as Africa Carbon Markets Initiative, using the mechanism of debt swaps and innovative finance instruments that make climate finance more fair and efficient, beside enhancing ESGs through setting specific criteria that prevent green washing.

In the end of his participation, Mohieldin said that COP27 focused on the actual implementation of climate action, explaining that COP28 in UAE has to set responsibilities of all parties and entities and to monitor the commitment to these responsibilities, beside building on the outcomes of Sharm El-Sheikh and Glasgow COPs to move forward in achieving climate targets.