Within the series of lectures held on climate and development by (COP27): - Egypt’s Minister of Planning and Economic Development chairs a lecture entitled "Financing the Transformation of a Green Economy in Developing Countries"
02 November 2022
H.E. Dr. Hala El-Said, Egypt’s Minister of Planning and Economic Development, chaired the “Financing the Transformation of the Green Economy in Developing Countries” lecture within the series of lectures held on climate and development, at the headquarters of Institute-of-National-Planning (INP) and organized by the Presidency of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27).During her speech, El-Said addressed the issue of financing the green transformation, as well as the efforts made to finance it (Green Transformation) in Egypt, explaining that the issue of financing represents a major challenge for the green transformation.El-Said explained that in terms of numbers, the climate finance gap around the world ranges between $2.5-4.8 trillion, according to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.El-Said added that closing this gap will require an additional amount of between $ 160 and 300 billion annually based on current investment estimates.El-Said added that this shortage affects both developed and developing countries, as the volume of investment requirements ranges between 4 and 8% of the gross domestic product of developing countries annually.El-Said pointed out that Africa will need cumulative climate financing of up to $ 1.6 trillion until 2030, an average of $ 128 billion dollars annually during that period, which leads to increased pressures on developing countries and their ability to achieve development goals.El-Said referred to the need for an evidence-based approach to address this challenge, supported by effective institutions and well-coordinated public policies, with monitoring and follow-up.El-Said also stressed the need to enhance transparency regarding financial flows to ensure the predictability of capital movement, following up that the vision of Egypt's presidency of the Conference of Parties (COP27) aims to ensure the effective implementation of the green transition in the world quickly.According to El-Said, this goal can only be realized with adequate support from developed countries to developing countries, including technology transfer, capacity building, financing, and additional concessional investments from developed countries.During the lecture, El-Said explained that Egypt is the first Arab country to issue the Financing for Development Report under the umbrella of the Arab League and in cooperation with all development partners.El-Said believes that the report provides an objective and in-depth analysis of a range of development financing issues that significantly affect the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.El-Said pointed to the Egyptian government's efforts in creating a path for inclusive growth and prioritizing financial inclusion through several initiatives, in addition to the country's trend towards digital transformation, encouraging digital payments and investing in digital infrastructure.The government has been bolstering the role of the private sector in the economy through several policies, such as the establishment of The Sovereign Fund of Egypt (TSFE). This fund will enable the government to participate in investments with local and foreign partners, provided that the funds do not compete with the private sector.El-Said referred to Egypt's efforts to improve the business environment, by carrying out institutional and legislative reforms, and efforts to improve the efficiency of the labor market and technical and vocational education and training through developing the technical education and vocational training system and setting the institutional framework to activate the role of the private sector in education and training, and empowering women, youth and people with special abilities.Regarding Egypt's hosting of COP 27, El-Said stressed that the Egyptian government is taking positive steps in confronting climate change by shifting towards a green and sustainable economy and preserving environmental and natural resources.