Mahmoud Mohieldin, the climate champion for the Egyptian presidency of the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Climate Change Convention (COP27), estimated the volume of the funding gap for climate action globally to be $2-3trn annually, pointing out that large economies have not committed to their pledges, which are estimated at $100bn so far. Mohieldin added that it is unfair for developing countries to borrow and be burdened with more debt in order to fund the climate adaptation gap, which is only responsible, as a continent, for 2-3% of carbon emissions. He told DNE that 33 sustainable projects for African countries were agreed upon on the sidelines of the event, and details are scheduled to be announced during the coming period. He also stressed the importance of dealing with Africa as a key partner in climate action, and that it is time to strengthen partnerships with the African continent in the areas of water, energy and food as the current funding is considered insufficient. He stressed that work is currently underway to create a common carbon market, in order to provide sustainable financing for climate adaptation. He also emphasized the importance of establishing the Africa Network within the framework of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero Emissions (GFANZ), and its importance in attracting more investments in financing climate projects in Africa. On the other hand, he stressed that international indicators show the increasing demand for food, water and energy as a first priority by 2030 at rates of 35%, 40%, and 50%, respectively, due to population growth, expecting that the population of the earth will reach 8 billion by the time the Sharm El Sheikh conference is held, and 8.5 billion by 2030. Mohieldin added that the second priority for climate action is implementation, explaining that the conference will be one for actual action not for more pledges and promises. He explained that the third priority is to enhance the regional dimension of climate action. He highlighted the initiative of the five major regional forums to finance climate action and the sustainable development goals. He said that the forums witnessed the presentation of a number of projects to address the negative effects of climate change, whether in the field of emissions mitigation or in the field of adaptation in a number of different economic sectors. As for the fourth axis of climate action, Mohieldin said that it involves enhancing the local aspect through the national initiative for smart green projects recently launched by Egypt, in which all local actors compete at the level of all governorates to submit a number of projects that meet environmental standards, so that 18 projects would be presented at COP27, including projects related to food, water and energy.
