Egypt’s Minister of Environment, Yasmine Fouad will co-chair climate finance and implementation mechanisms negotiations at the upcoming 28th UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai, alongside her Canadian counterpart Steven Guilbeaul.
Meanwhile, six ministers from other countries, including South Africa, Denmark, Singapore, and Chile, were selected to chair other negotiation groups focused on climate mitigation and adaptation.
The climate finance negotiations are set to commence in mid-September and run through the end of the conference in mid-December, according to the environment ministry’s statement on Tuesday.
As the ministerial coordinator and envoy for COP27, Fouad reaffirmed her commitment to building on its achievements, which laid the foundation to address the repercussions of climate change at both the national and global levels.
These achievements include the establishment of the Loss and Damage Fund, which aims to compensate vulnerable nations for loss and damage from climate-fueled disasters, Fouad explained.
According to the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) 2022 Adaptation Gap Report, international adaptation financing for developing countries is five to ten times below the over $300 billion needed per year by 2030.
Last week, Egypt held its first ever climate investment forum, linking mitigation, adaptation, and climate financing.
The forum, which will be held annually, also aims to follow up on the outcomes of COP27 while transforming them into practical steps for Egypt, African nations, and developing countries at large.
In his speech at the G20 Summit in India, President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi stressed the importance of improving international financing for climate action and development.
El-Sisi proposed that MDBs increase their lending capacity by providing concessional financing and prevent climate finance from overlapping with development finance.
Last year at COP27, El-Sisi called on developed countries to fulfill their obligations to fund climate action in developing countries, in addition to transferring the necessary technology.
