Egypt’s environment minister, Adaptation Fund chief discuss strategies for financing projects

CAIRO – 21 November 2024: Egypt's Minister of Environment Yasmine Fouad met with Mikko Ollikainen, the Head of the Adaptation Fund, on Thursday to discuss strategies for boosting funding for adaptation projects.

The meeting took place on the sidelines of the ministerial segment of the COP29 Climate Conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, which is being held from November 11 to 22, 2024, under the theme "Investing in a Livable Planet for All."

The two officials discussed mechanisms for increasing adaptation financing, in the context of efforts to establish a new collective climate finance goal.

Mikko Ollikainen expressed his hope to leverage Fouad’s leadership in the climate finance discussions, particularly in her role alongside her Australian counterpart in the negotiations on the new collective climate finance goal at COP29.

Fouad emphasized the critical need to increase funding for adaptation, which remains a priority for developing countries. She clarified that the new collective climate finance goal being developed at COP29 focuses on overall climate finance, without addressing specific allocations for funds such as the Adaptation Fund.

The Minister also praised the ongoing collaboration with the Adaptation Fund at the national level, highlighting Egypt’s increased share in the Fund. Egypt's funding allocation has been raised from $10 million to $20 million, which will be used for implementing both adaptation projects (Action Grants) and (Readiness Projects).

Fouad also discussed opportunities to secure additional funding for adaptation projects outside of Egypt’s direct allocation, including through innovation grants, regional grants, project scale-up grants, learning grants for adaptation education, and enhanced direct access to local knowledge.

Notably, the Egyptian projects currently funded by the Adaptation Fund include the Food Resilience Project in Upper Egypt, which is being implemented in partnership with the World Food Program and the Ministry of Agriculture.

This project, which consists of two phases with a total budget of $10 million, targets 64 villages in Egypt. It focuses on involving local communities in agricultural and innovative projects to diversify income sources and enhance their resilience to climate change.

Soha Taher, Head of the Environment Central Administration for Climate Change, also attended the meeting.