Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin, climate pioneer for the Egyptian presidency of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (COP27) and the United Nations Special Envoy for Financing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, confirmed that the national initiative for smart green projects has been highly appreciated by Egypt’s development partners at the regional and international levels.
This came during his participation in a meeting of the Arbitration Committee for the National Initiative for Smart Green Projects, with the participation of Ambassador Hisham Badr, the general coordinator of the initiative, and representatives of the relevant ministries and national councils and executive members of the initiative at the governorate level.
Mohieldin said that Egypt made, through this unprecedented initiative, a major contribution to development and climate action, praising the success of the first version of the initiative, which resulted in a large number of distinguished projects that were appreciated at the local, regional and international levels.
Mohieldin explained that the initiative succeeded in combining centralization through the direct sponsorship of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi for the initiative and its coordination through the Presidency of the Council of Ministers and the efforts of the relevant ministries, and decentralization through the great efforts and contributions of the governorates and local agencies within the various cities and villages across the country.
He stated that the success of the initiative resulted from its reliance on the two main drivers of future economies, which are digital transformation and the exploitation of modern technology, sustainability and taking into account the environmental and climatic dimensions of development projects, explaining that these two elements are integrated in the projects participating in the initiative in a way that achieves Egypt’s goals for the transition towards a sustainable green economy.
He pointed out that the initiative is characterized by comprehensiveness, as it included all categories of projects of large, small and medium sizes, as well as women and youth projects and non-profit development projects, in addition to the fact that it mixed government work with the participation of the private sector, civil society and development financing institutions.
Mohieldin: The Smart Green Projects Initiative will be present in the discussions of the Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi
Mohieldin said that the initiative has succeeded in creating a knowledge base that can be built upon in studies and research related to the economy, development, and environmental and climate work, explaining that the initiative will be present in the discussions of the Africa Climate Summit and the Africa Climate Week, which will be held in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, in a few days, as an Egyptian model for the localization of development work. and climatic.
Raed Al-Manakh explained that the success of the first edition of the initiative contributed to the good preparation of the 27th Conference of the Parties, which Sharm El-Sheikh hosted last November, which achieved great success at the local, national, regional and global levels, pointing out that the outputs of Sharm El-Sheikh are cited and built upon in regional and international forums. important.
Mahmoud Mohieldin: The Climate Conference in Sharm El-Sheikh was a great success
He added that the Sharm El-Sheikh conference succeeded in consolidating the comprehensive approach to climate action by paying attention to all dimensions of climate action included in the Paris Agreement. The conference also succeeded in reviving the issue of dealing with losses and damages resulting from climate change through the launch of the Loss and Damages Fund, in addition to focusing on the element of financing climate action, promoting investment in it, and encouraging the participation of the private sector and civil society.
He stated that the Sharm El-Sheikh conference succeeded in refuting allegations of separation between climate and development action through the practical linkage between climate activities and other sustainable development goals such as combating poverty, providing job opportunities, maximizing the role of women, achieving food security, managing water resources, providing clean energy sources for all, and protecting marine life, pointing out This comprehensive approach called for by the Sharm El-Sheikh conference was adopted by the UAE in preparing for the twenty-eighth conference of the parties and has become a basis for planning development and climate action.