Mohieldin: It is important to finance energy projects according to concessional terms in middle and low-income countries
International financing entities and MDBs will help financing energy transition
Abu Dhabi- by: shaban hadia
Dr Mahmoud Mohieldin, UN Climate Change High Level Champion for Egypt and UN Special Envoy on Financing 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, said that accelerating financing the just transition in the field of energy should happen through the diversity of energy sources and adopting a holistic approach that considerate social and economic dimensions beside the environmental one.
His remarks came during his participation in Energy Transition Accelerating Financing Platform session in International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) Assembly meetings in Abu Dhabi.
Mohieldin said that the fact of that 600 million Africans live without electricity while more than a billion people suffer from poverty demonstrates the importance of accelerating financing energy transition with consideration of economic and social situations of countries and societies.
Mohieldin stressed the importance of this transformation taking into account the reduction of debts in developing countries, and that energy plans and projects be financed on concessional terms that include middle-income countries in addition to low-income countries, with interest rates not exceeding 1 percent, and a grace period of no less than ten years.
Repayment period of twenty years
He stated that enhancing the role of international financing entities and MDBs will help financing energy transition and encourage private sector to participate in financing and implementing energy projects.
Mohieldin noted the importance of working in a cumulative manner based on what was reached previously, he explained that the Egyptian presidency of COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, in cooperation with the regional economic commissions of the United Nations and HLCs, launched the initiative of the five regional roundtables to reach the best climate projects that fit the priorities of each region and finding the best ways to finance them, adding that some of the projects that resulted from the initiative relate to energy transition, and it is agreed that some of these projects will benefit from the financing of GFANZ.
Mohieldin said that Sharm El-Sheikh conference aimed to provide clean and safe energy as one of the sustainable development goals, noting that there is a great interest in investing in renewable energy sources especially during the current energy crisis.
