Egypt has been selected as one of seven countries to benefit from the Climate Investment Funds' (CIF) $1bn Industrial Decarbonisation Programme, Minister of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat announced on Saturday. Egypt was chosen from a global pool of 26 applicants for the programme, which is the first global development financing initiative aimed at reducing emissions in the industrial sector of developing countries. The other selected nations are Brazil, Mexico, Namibia, South Africa, Turkey and Uzbekistan. Al-Mashat said the selection reflects international confidence in Egypt's climate action strategies. "The selection reflects international institutions' confidence in national climate action strategies and green transformation efforts," Al-Mashat stated, adding that a "strong institutional framework and effective partnerships with development partners and the private sector contributed to Egypt's winning bid among 26 countries." The ministry submitted Egypt's proposal in collaboration with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the African Development Bank (AfDB). The submission was based on Egypt's green economy transition goals, institutional capabilities and private sector participation. The minister said the government is working to integrate national policies with climate objectives and that Egypt has intensified its climate efforts since hosting the COP27 summit in November 2022. During the summit, Egypt launched its "NWFE" country platform, a programme designed to attract climate investments through government, private sector and international partnerships. The CIF confirmed that an independent expert team assessed the applications. The programme aims to support low-emission industrial transformation, create green jobs and improve the long-term economic competitiveness of participating nations, positioning them to benefit from a global market for eco-friendly goods projected to reach $2trn by 2030. Tariye Gbadegesine, CEO of the Climate Investment Funds, said emerging markets are playing a key role in the effort to reduce industrial carbon emissions. "The global race to decarbonize the industrial sector has begun, and emerging markets are leading the way," Gbadegesine said. "Decarbonizing industry is not just about cutting emissions, it is also about securing long-term prosperity and future jobs. It is vital to produce the low-carbon industrial inputs the world urgently needs to scale renewable energy capacity and power the global economy." The seven selected countries are expected to work with multilateral development banks and private sector partners to develop investment plans for approval by the CIF board. The plans will allow them to access concessional financing to scale up clean technologies, such as green hydrogen. The Industrial Decarbonisation Programme is part of the CIF's $9bn Clean Technology Fund (CTF). According to the CIF, the fund uses a private capital mobilisation mechanism that generates $12 in additional financing for every dollar it invests. During the COP27 conference, Egypt also ranked first in the North Africa and Europe region for the CIF's Nature, People, and Climate Investment initiative, which provides $500m to support projects in developing countries. The ministry said technical discussions are underway with the CIF to use this initiative to fund projects under the "NWFE" programme.
