Egypt-US deal on backing NWFE program for promoting green projects to be announced at COP27: Min.

CAIRO – 1 September 2022: An Egyptian-US agreement on supporting the national Nexus of Water, Food, and Energy (NWFE) Program will be announced at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) in November in Sharm El-Sheikh city, Environment Minister Yasmine Fouad said on Thursday.

NWFE Program, launched by the Egyptian Ministry of International Cooperation in July, is a mechanism to promote the implementation of green development projects in the vital sectors of water, food and energy by attracting foreign funds in this regard.

Fouad made the statements in a meeting with US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry today on the sidelines of the Joint Environment and Climate Ministers’ Meeting hosted by Indonesia.

During the meeting, Fouad reviewed with Kerry means of supporting Egypt in its NWFE program, a national program to implement the nationally determined contributions.

This especially includes replacing 17 power stations running on natural gas with others working with renewable energy, such as wind and solar energy, with a capacity of up to 10 GW.

Fouad added that the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and other donors are studying the NWFE program, noting that part of the support to the program will be a grant while the other part will be soft financing and investments by the private sector with a total cost of $10 billion.

Fouad and Kerry discussed cooperation between Egypt and the US in light of Egypt’s preparations to host the COP27.

During her participation in the Bali meeting, Fouad on Wednesday urged the G20 to fulfill its financial commitments to allocate $100 billion as mentioned in Paris Agreement in 2015 and to double the funding of adaption.

Fouad attended the meeting on behalf of Foreign Minister and President-Designate of COP27 Sameh Sohukry. The meeting was also attended by Egyptian Ambassador in Indonesia Ashraf Sultan.

During the meeting, the minister asserted the importance of providing plans to contribute to achieving the goals set in Paris Agreement especially that 80 percent of emissions come from the G20 members.

She also noted that Egypt is totally ready to host all sides in COP27, adding that Egypt is keen on pushing forward climate action by achieving progress in negotiations through discussion in order to reach active recommendations.