Egypt to Mobilize Funding ‘Green Banks’ Ahead of COP 27 Summit

Egyptian Minister for International Cooperation, Rania al-Mashat speaks during an interview with Reuters in Cairo, Egypt January 24, 2021. REUTERS/Sherif Fahmy
Egyptian Minister for International Cooperation, Rania al-Mashat speaks during an interview with Reuters in Cairo, Egypt January 24, 2021. REUTERS/Sherif Fahmy
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Egypt to Mobilize Funding ‘Green Banks’ Ahead of COP 27 Summit

Egyptian Minister for International Cooperation, Rania al-Mashat speaks during an interview with Reuters in Cairo, Egypt January 24, 2021. REUTERS/Sherif Fahmy
Egyptian Minister for International Cooperation, Rania al-Mashat speaks during an interview with Reuters in Cairo, Egypt January 24, 2021. REUTERS/Sherif Fahmy

Egypt has intensified efforts to mobilize financing for "green banks," in preparation for the COP27 Climate Summit, which it will host in Sharm el-Sheikh in late 2022.

Minister of International Cooperation Rania al-Mashat said that innovative financing tools are a catalyst to ensure that the international community’s commitments made at COP26 in Glasgow are implemented ahead of the next summit.

Mashat underscored the importance of bolstering multilateral cooperation to advance the main areas of action to achieve the green transition, namely, mitigation and adaptation projects to climate change, technology transfer, expertise and financing.

She made her remarks at the opening speech at the Green Banks Event “A Green Finance Facilities Ecosystem: A Three Trillion Dollars Opportunity for Africa,” which is organized by the African Development Bank as part of the Middle East and North Africa Climate Week 2022, held in Dubai, UAE.

The minister pointed to Egypt’s steps to advance national efforts and enhance regional and international action to consolidate the climate concepts, preserve the environment, and implement clear and ambitious plans for climate financing through an international framework for innovative financing.

She underlined the international financial institutions’ need to expand climate finance based on various pillars related to inclusion and justice, to ensure that the whole world, particularly the developing and emerging countries, can benefit from climate financing and green investments.

Mashat said all stakeholders, including women, youth and the private sector, shall participate in developing climate action plans and financing eco-friendly projects through innovative financing solutions, risk reduction tools and blended financing.

She pointed to the successive measures taken by the Egyptian government to promote green investments and push towards a green economy.

These include decisions to increase green public investments from 15% in the current fiscal year to 30% in the next fiscal year, followed by a 50% increase in 2024/2025.

In 2021, Egypt secured the first green financing from international and regional banks worth $1.5 billion, directed to finance eco-friendly projects such as water treatment and desalination plants, solid waste management, canal lining, and seawater desalination.



Palestinian Health Ministry Says One Dead in Israel West Bank Raid

Demonstrators clash with Palestinian security forces in Nablus in the West Bank (File photo/Reuters)
Demonstrators clash with Palestinian security forces in Nablus in the West Bank (File photo/Reuters)
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Palestinian Health Ministry Says One Dead in Israel West Bank Raid

Demonstrators clash with Palestinian security forces in Nablus in the West Bank (File photo/Reuters)
Demonstrators clash with Palestinian security forces in Nablus in the West Bank (File photo/Reuters)

The health ministry in the occupied West Bank said one person was killed and nine injured in an Israeli raid on a refugee camp, with the Israeli military saying Saturday it had opened fire at "terrorists".

An 18-year-old man, Muhammad Medhat Amin Amer, "was killed by bullets from the (Israeli) occupation in the Balata camp" in the territory's north, the Palestinian health ministry said in a late-night statement, adding that nine people were injured, "four of whom are in critical condition".

According to the Palestinian Red Crescent, the raid began on Friday night and triggered violent clashes, AFP reported.

The official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that Israeli troops entered the camp from the Awarta checkpoint and "deployed snipers on the rooftops of surrounding buildings".

In a statement on Saturday, the Israeli military said that during the "counterterrorism" operation, "terrorists placed explosives in the area in order to harm (military) soldiers, hurled explosives, molotov cocktails, and rocks and shot fireworks at the forces".

"The forces fired toward the terrorists in order to remove the threat. Hits were identified," the statement said.

Violence in the West Bank has intensified since war broke out in the Gaza Strip after Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

Since then, at least 815 Palestinians have been killed in the territory by Israeli troops or settlers, according to the Palestinian health ministry in Ramallah.

In the same period, Palestinian attacks in the West Bank have killed at least 25 Israelis, according to official Israeli figures.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since conquering it in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.