The first regional forum organized by the Egyptian presidency for the upcoming UN climate change conference will kick off in Ethiopia on Tuesday.
Egypt will host the COP27 United Nations Climate Change Conference 2022 at the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh in November.
It will organize five major regional forums related to climate. The first, on Africa, will be held in Addis Ababa, the headquarters of the UN Economic Commission for Africa, on August 2-4. The second will be held in Bangkok, the headquarters of UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, on August 25. Santiago, the headquarters of the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, will host the third forum on September 1-2. Beirut, the headquarters of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, will host the fourth forum on Arab countries on September 15.
The fifth will be held in Geneva, the headquarters of the UN Economic Commission for Europe on September 20.
The outcomes of the five meetings will be presented at the COP27 summit in November.
According to the presidency of COP27, the forums aim to encourage investment in areas related to climate action.
They seek to propose climate projects and investment opportunities to investors, international financing organizations, development banks and other actors to start implementing projects that would achieve climate action goals.
UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for Egypt Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin said the initiative aims to discuss investment opportunities in various sectors, including food, water, irrigation, increasing agricultural productivity, new and renewable sources of energy and its infrastructure.
Additionally, they will tackle the digital transformation of those sectors in a way that helps in the actual implementation of climate projects, the achievement of climate goals and the provision of job opportunities in the five regions.
The forum in Addis Ababa, “Towards COP27: African Regional Forum on Climate Initiatives to Finance Climate Action and the Sustainable Development Goals,” will witness high-level participation by Egyptian officials, including Sameh Shoukry, Foreign Minister and COP27 President Designate; Yasmine Fouad, Environment Minister and COP27 Ministerial Coordinator and Envoy; Rania al-Mashat, International Cooperation Minister; and Mohamed Farid, EGX Chairman.
Several African ministers, UN officials, business leaders, investors and representatives of financing organizations and development banks from Africa and abroad will also take part.
The forum will discuss tools for a fair financial transition, upscaling investment to adapt to the effects of climate change, ecosystem mechanisms and reducing the risks caused by natural disasters and the losses and damages resulting from climate change and investing in means to address them.
Ways to transform into green economy in Africa and mobilize and unify the private sector on climate action will also be tackled.
According to the agenda, six roundtables will be held to address energy access and just energy transition and transport, food security, climate smart agriculture and building resilience and ecosystem based approaches, digital transformation, the development of African carbon credit markets, the Blue Economy and supporting water access for different cities.
According to an Egyptian statement, the forum aims to “mobilize financing and ensure the flow of investments to build an ecosystem in Africa that is resilient in the face of climate change, in addition to advancing Africa’s development agendas 2030 and 2063.”
It also seeks to find environmentally friendly climate and economic solutions to contribute to achieving sustainable development goals in Africa and increasing the benefits of the African carbon market.
