Egypt's Minister of Planning and Economic Development participates in the “Voluntary Carbon Markets on the Egyptian Stock Exchange” event held during Cop27.

H.E. Dr. Hala El-Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, participated today in an event entitled "Voluntary Carbon Markets on the Egyptian Stock Exchange", which was held during the Finance Day events.The event was attended by the Egyptian Prime Minister and several ministers. The event comes within the activities of the 27th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change COP27, which Egypt will host in Sharm El-Sheikh from 7-18 November, in the presence of several world heads of state. And broad international participation.During her speech, Dr. Hala El-Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, indicated the need to exert more effort to accelerate climate action.El-Said stressed that the latest report issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change indicates that all countries are largely falling short, with financial flows reduced by three to six times the levels required by 2030.El-Said noted that the Conference of the Parties (COP26) clearly stated that the state parties have not yet fulfilled their commitments to achieve the $100 billion target.El-Said explained that taking climate change into account in all development and economic policies has become a priority, as green finance and climate-related finance play a growing role in the economic and financial policies of developing countries.El-Said pointed to Egypt's application of innovative financing mechanisms, including the implementation of sustainability standards to green the national investment plan, as well as the launch of the first public and private green bonds in the Middle East and Africa.El-Said concluded by explaining that voluntary carbon markets can be viewed as an option to mobilize additional resources to bridge the existing gap, explaining that the current voluntary carbon market is dominated by the private sector, which develops carbon projects. This indicates the importance of involving all relevant stakeholders in addressing climate change.El-Said added that in Egypt, several companies from the private sector have already taken clear steps in this regard, including SEKEM, which is now using carbon credits to reduce carbon emissions, while at the same time supporting the campaign to green the desert.El-Said also referred to the establishment of the "Egyptian Business Council for Green Transformation" by a group of companies that decided to work on a completely voluntary basis by monitoring their carbon footprint and supporting mitigation.El-Said highlighted the Egyptian government’s commitment to providing all necessary support and incentives to the private sector, despite the ongoing economic challenges and the narrowing of the fiscal space due to the effects of Covid and recent geopolitical developments.El-Said added that the Egyptian Sovereign Fund, which was established as an investment arm of the government, and a partner in the private sector, is investing in projects that will create a supply of carbon credits, including a growing group of renewable industries based on renewable energy sources and green fuels.El-Said said that the fund will soon announce an investment in a carbon credit fund that aims to invest in key issues of decarbonization, adding that there is huge potential for Egypt and the entire African continent to become a huge source of carbon credits.El-Said concluded her speech by affirming the government's support for this pioneering initiative, which represents an opportunity to further strengthen public-private partnerships for climate action.