The second edition of Egypt-ICF 2022 and the Meeting of African Ministers of Finance, Economy and Environment for COP27, kicked off on Wednesday at the New Administrative Capital. Egypt ICF200 is being held Under the patronage and in the presence of Egypt's President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi. Egypt-ICF witnessed the attendance of Egypt's Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, Minister of International Cooperation Rania A. Al-Mashat, Minister of Planning and Economic Development Hala El-Said, Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait, Minister of Environment Yasmine Fouad, Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy Mohamed Shaker, Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation Alsayed Al-Kosair. Egypt-ICF 2022 witnessed high-level international participation including Amina J. Mohammed, deputy secretary-general of the UN and chair of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group; John Kerry, US climate envoy; Mark Carney, UN special envoy on climate action and finance; Odile Renaud Basso, president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development; Benedict Okey Oramah, president and chairman of the board of directors at the African Export-Import Bank; and Mathias Cormann, secretary-general of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. They also include Khalida Bouzar, assistant secretary-general and director of the UN Development Programme Regional Bureau for Arab States; Vera Songwe, UN under-secretary-general; Mari Pangestu, managing director of development policy and partnerships at the World Bank; Mokhtar Diop, executive director and vice president of the International Finance Corporation; Mahmoud Mohieldin, UN climate change high-level champion for Egypt; Ghada Fathy Ismail Waly, executive director of the UN's Office on Drugs and Crime and director-general of the UN Office at Vienna; and Nigel Topping, the UK's high-level climate action champion. The 2nd edition of the Egypt-ICF Forum is held 60 days ahead of COP27 under the theme "Moving from Pledges to Implementation". Egypt-ICF Forum's overall objectives include the mobilization of finance and access to finance, financing mitigation and adaptation projects, and national actions. focused on developing countries and Africa; to address the needs, resources and modalities to leverage the necessary public and private support to accelerate climate action; and provide a timely platform to explore needed national actions that would help progress towards a just and green transition. Egypt-ICF's objectives come in line with the key objective of Egypt's COP27 that pushes the international community efforts to move from pledges to implementation in terms of climate action finances. Africa needs significant finances to build its resilience against the severe impacts of climate change and other shocks such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. The continent needs between $7-15 billion per year to adapt to climate change, according to the African Development Bank (AfDB) estimations. Meanwhile, African countries have developed their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), which require $2.46 billion for it to be implemented as per the UNFCCC's estimations, besides an additional $3 trillion according to the AfDB. It is worth noting that the African negotiators proposed during the COP26 a $1.3 trillion new ceiling to meet the financial needs of the African continent in the face of climate change as of 2025. Based on the United Nations Environment Programme data, developing countries need approximately $70 billion annually for adaptation efforts with expectations that this sum could increase to reach $140 billion up to $300 billion by 2030 and target $$280 billion up to $500 billion by 2050. Both agriculture and infrastructure sectors acquire the majority of the overall need for these finances (75%), followed by sectors of water and natural disaster management.
