Egypt's Minister of Local Development and Acting Minister of Environment, Manal Awad, held discussions with EU Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra and Denmark's Climate Ambassador Ole Thonke on the sidelines of the 9th Ministerial on Climate Action (MoCA) in Canada, which took place from 31 October to 1 November. Awad said Egypt will advocate at the upcoming COP30 summit for the full implementation of the Paris Agreement, with an emphasis on climate finance, technology transfer, and capacity building. She highlighted the need to operationalise the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) and strengthen its delivery mechanisms, stressing that adaptation and its financing must remain priorities for the most climate-vulnerable nations, particularly in Africa. The minister underlined that countries' ability to meet their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) depends on adequate technical support, financing, and capacity-building measures, as well as on leveraging the Just Transition Work Programme to align ambition with practical delivery. She also called for greater transparency, inclusivity, and accountability to ensure that global climate pledges translate into measurable progress. Awad showcased Egypt's regulated voluntary carbon market, launched in August 2024, which saw its first trade executed on 13 August. The market operates through the Egyptian Carbon Exchange (EGCX) under the supervision of the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) and is hosted on the Egyptian Exchange. She noted that Egypt is also advancing the application of operational guidelines under Articles 6.2 and 6.4 of the Paris Agreement. For his part, Hoekstra expressed the EU's readiness to support the GGA consultations and to assist countries in implementing their NDCs through enhanced finance, technology transfer, and capacity-building initiatives. He also reaffirmed Europe's commitment to advancing consensus on new climate-finance implementation mechanisms. No financial details were disclosed. The MoCA meeting gathered environment and climate ministers from the EU, China, Canada, and several developing countries to coordinate positions ahead of COP30.
