Mahmoud Mohieldin: There is still a great opportunity to make progress in climate action at COP27

CAIRO – 5 November 2022: Mahmoud Mohieldin,UN  Climate Change High Level Champion for Egypt and UN Special Envoy on Financing 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda,stressed that There is great opportunity to advance climate action at the upcoming Climate Summit even after the Ukraine crisis, given the ongoing momentum and promising opportunities for investment in decarbonization and renewable energy sources.

 

 During his interview with BBC Radio, Mohieldin stressed the need to continue to push  momentum in areas that are witnessing progress, in addition to supporting some other areas that did not receive as much attention as they should have in the past.

 

The climate champion  also pointed to the need to advance climate action based on the Paris Agreement in the light of a holistic approach that addresses the four aspects of mitigation, adaptation, losses and damages and financing.

 

On adaptation, Mohieldin noted that a better job could be done in obtaining funding from the public and private sectors as well as domestic and external sources in order to advance the climate action agenda.

 

 He added that this can only be achieved if we realize that the reductionist approach adopted in the past will not help us, as we need to put climate action within sustainable development and within the crisis management policies facing us today, such as the Ukraine crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. 

 

On the other hand, the climate champion referred to the funding profile referring to the Glasgow Summit where one of the most celebrated  outcomes  was  the financing of a project related to renewable energy for South Africa, which is $8.5 billion for coal phase-out. He added that if such projects are multiplied, but with more commitments, we can say, we have made some kind of progress. He also clarified that the success of the Climate Summit is represented in how to translate commitments into action .