Egypt's Planning Ministry, UN run the activities of 1st round of consultations on the proposed initiative for (COP27) Presidency
27 August 2022
The Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, in cooperation with the United Nations Development Program, held the activities of the first round of consultations on the proposed initiative for the presidency of the Conference of the Parties (COP27) “Greening National Budgets in Africa and Developing Countries”, in preparation for the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (COP27), which It will be held in Sharm El-Sheikh next November.
The first round of consultations witnessed the presence of Dr. Jamil Helmy, Assistant Minister of Planning and Economic Development for Follow-up Affairs of the Sustainable Development Plan, Dr. Mona Essam, Head of the Sustainable Development Unit at the Ministry, and First Secretary Sherif Daoud, Deputy Head of the Sustainable Development Unit at the Ministry.
During the first session, Dr. Jamil Helmy, Assistant Minister of Planning and Economic Development for Follow-up Affairs of the Sustainable Development Plan, reviewed the Egyptian experience in greening the state’s general budget, pointing to the launch of the Environmental Sustainability Standards Manual for the first time, the issuance of the state’s general planning law, in addition to the launch of some sectoral strategies.
Helmy explained that the objectives of these standards are to raise awareness of sectors and interventions that have a direct positive impact on the environment and direct the public and private sectors to invest in these sectors, with the development and application of performance indicators that measure progress towards achieving that goal, as well as promoting the green economy and achieving sustainable development.
Helmy added that the Environmental Sustainability Standards Guide represents a practical and applied tool to achieve the goals of Egypt’s Vision 2030 related to “integrating the environmental dimension into the planning system and integrating environmental sustainability considerations into the “project financing standards”.
On the sectoral distribution of public green projects, Helmy explained that the transport sector accounts for 50% of them, while the percentage of green interventions in the Decent Life Initiative is 25%, and the irrigation sector is 10% of those projects.
About green strategies, Dr. Jamil Helmy explained that at the national and sectoral levels, Egypt launched several green strategies, including the 2050 climate change strategy, the integrated and sustainable energy strategy 2035, the water resources management and development strategy for 2050, the seawater desalination strategy: 2050, the strategy National Green Hydrogen.
Helmy touched on the most important green projects in Egypt, referring to seawater desalination plants, waste treatment plants, modern irrigation systems, canal rehabilitation (lining) of canals, coastal protection projects, subway network, railways, and electric lines, wind power plants, and power plants. Solar generation.
On green bonds, Helmy stressed that the Egyptian government had successfully entered the green bond market for the first time with the issuance of the first sovereign green bonds in the Middle East and North Africa in September 2020.
Dr. Jamil Helmy also referred to the General Planning Law: Greening the Legislative Framework, pointing out that Egypt has updated the Planning Law (No. 70, 1973), by issuing the General Planning Law (No. 18, 2022), which paves the way for the adoption of environmental sustainability standards in the country.
Helmy talked about the green projects carried out by the Sovereign Fund of Egypt, referring to the project to produce green hydrogen using renewable energy plants, building new desalination plants, green data centers, and electric and clean transportation projects, explaining that the Egyptian Sovereign Fund aims to create wealth for future generations.
For his part, Sherif Daoud, Deputy Director of the Sustainable Development Unit at the Ministry, explained that the initiative aims to shape the planning process in a climate-sensitive manner, design economic policies that take into account the impact of climate changes, and identify efforts related to climate action while identifying gaps to limit the required support.
Daoud added that the initiative intends to propose a set of guiding principles, standards, and policy advice to achieve the goals of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and its Paris Agreement, in the context of efforts to achieve sustainable development, and to adopt a participatory approach to promote sustainable and climate-smart recovery while ensuring Fundamental Principles of “Leaving no one or place behind”
Daoud also explained the best international practices related to greening the state’s public budget and referred to Egypt’s experience in targeting an increase in the percentage of green public investments from 15% in 2020/21 to 30% in 2021/22 and to become 50% by the end of 2024/25.
The consultative session was attended by Aya Nawar, Deputy Head of the Sustainable Development Unit at the Ministry, Farida Zaki, Senior Economic Researcher at the Sustainable Development Unit at the Ministry, and Maryam Mahmoud, Economic Researcher at the Sustainable Development Unit at the Ministry.