Egypt's Minister of International Cooperation, Rania Al-Mashat, delivered the opening speech at the high-level conference "Building the Economies of the Future: The Power of Investing in NDCs and LTS to Deliver the Paris Agreement and the SDGs." The conference was organized by Germany and Peru in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Al-Mashat explained that climate change and its negative effects are reflected in all aspects of economic development. She also noted that the sudden shocks in global supply chains, which were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the geopolitical crisis in Ukraine, have cast a shadow on economic conditions, causing an increase in inflation rates in developing countries and various countries around the world. She added that mitigating the effects and repercussions of climate change requires concerted efforts and the implementation of NDCs and long-term strategies to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Al-Mashat highlighted Egypt's progress towards issuing and updating its NDCs, to pave the way towards developing national projects, platforms, and sustainable initiatives to move forward towards enhancing climate action. She noted that the government presented the first update to the NDCs in July 2022, reflecting Egypt's commitment to climate action and alignment between development and green transformation efforts and Egypt's Vision 2030. In June 2023, Egypt issued a new update to its NDCs, confirming the country's endeavor to accelerate the pace of low-carbon development by moving the goal of increasing the percentage of renewable energy to 42% by 2030, instead of 2035. This is in line with the political declaration issued by Egypt, the United States of America, and Germany at COP27. Al-Mashat stated that in order to enhance long-term development strategies, Egypt issued the National Strategy for Climate Change 2050 in May 2022. Accordingly, a group of priority projects in the areas of mitigation and adaptation were selected, on the basis of which the national platform for the "NWFE" program, the nexus of water, food, and energy, was launched. Al-Mashat said that the "NWFE" program is the result of government efforts in issuing the National Strategy for Climate Change and NDCs, to confirm the state's commitment to enhancing climate action through an innovative national platform that increases efforts to mobilize investments, innovative financing tools, and debt swaps for mitigation and adaptation projects. She noted the joint efforts made with development partners to support the program and move forward towards implementing its projects, pointing to the close partnership between the government and the UNDP, within the framework of which a number of projects are being implemented, including the project to enhance adaptation to climate change in the Nile Delta, to reduce the risks of floods in coastal areas and sea level rise. Al-Mashat emphasized that Egypt's updated NDCs and the launch of the "NWFE" program are major steps towards the country's efforts to fulfill its climate pledges. This also opens the door to further cooperation with development partners to provide development grants, debt swaps, and concessional development financing that stimulates private sector investments in energy pillar projects within the program.
