CAIRO - 17 November 2022: Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Hala El-Said, witnessed the launch of the first Egyptian fund to invest in projects that issue carbon certificates, EgyCOP.
This came during the “Solutions Day” activities supervised by the Ministry of Planning as part of the activities of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27), which Egypt is hosting in Sharm El-Sheikh from November 7-18, with wide international participation.
The Egyptian Fund for Investment in Projects that Issue Carbon Certificates, EgyCOP, has an authorized capital of LE 1 billion. It finances the projects of Egyptian companies that achieve a reduction in emissions in Egypt and issues them internationally accredited certificates to offset emissions from the Swiss Gold Standard Corporation.
El-Said affirmed that the EgyCOP is the first of its kind in the Egyptian market, noting that it is a vivid example of the vision of the COP presidency for this year, “Together for Implementation,” because it represents a tangible step forward towards cooperation in implementing innovative solutions that can help our world in combating Climate change.
The Minister of Planning said that with this launch, Egypt and Africa will have a greater role in investing in balancing emissions, noting that Egypt has a variety of qualified projects that can help reduce carbon emissions, in the transport, energy, solid waste and biodiversity sectors.
She added that the EgyCop provides more functional space for the release of public funds towards adaptation projects, especially in the current context of slowing global economic activity and limited financial resources.
El-Said elaborated that there is a clear complementarity between the main goal of the EgyCOP and the launch of the EGX Carbon Market during the financing day the previous week, as it also introduces the first direct investment company operating in voluntary carbon markets, noting that this intersection of work and initiatives between policy makers and the private sector confirms the commitment Egypt is taking transformative steps towards climate action.
On Nov. 9, the Egyptian government launched the first African voluntary carbon market, on the sidelines of the COP27 climate summit, currently being held in Sharm El-Sheikh, in the presence of world leaders.
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The African Market for Carbon Certificates is a platform to help economic entities operating in various productive activities in Egypt and Africa to engage in activities to reduce carbon emissions and to benefit from the issuance and sale of certificates under the reduction for other companies wishing to offset their carbon emissions that are difficult to reduce.
The Minister of Planning and Economic Development added that integrating the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into the criteria used by the gold standard in measuring verifiable emissions reductions will have significant effects on accelerating the achievement of the sustainable development goals by 2030.
She explained that this reflects the harmonization of efforts made at the national level to achieve the goals and objectives of Egypt's Vision 2030.
At the end of her speech, El-Said emphasized that the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development remains committed to supporting the implementation of private sector participation not only in the Egyptian economy, but also in the African continent, for a positive, measurable and tangible impact on the climate.
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