On COP28 Sidelines: Egypt’s Planning Ministry organizes a side event entitled “Aligning Climate and Development to Achieve SDGs and Accelerate Climate Action”

The Ministry of Planning and Economic Development organizes a side event entitled “Aligning Climate and Development to Achieve SDGs and Accelerate Climate Action” in the presence of H.E. Dr. Hala El-Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development.

The event took place during Cop28 which is currently being held starting from November 30 to December 12, 2023, in Dubai.

During her speech, Dr. Hala El-Said explained that the year 2023 represents great importance as the midpoint of the 2030 Agenda as well as the first “Global Assessment” of the progress achieved in the Paris Agreement.

  El-Said noted that the world is still far from achieving the goals of both plans.

She further said that one of the main reasons for the slow implementation of the 2030 Plan and the Paris Agreement is the insufficient financing related to climate and development.

She also indicated that as a result of the effects of COVID-19 which caused the lockdown, the government had to provide support to many sectors and individuals, whether through cash transfers or additional investment in some sectors such as the technology, education, and health sectors.

El-Said explained that the continuation of the situation and crises, in addition to the state of turmoil that occurred in supply chains, led to intensified pressure on most developing countries, in addition to high inflation rates, which prompted most central banks to increase interest rates.

El-Said added that most countries now have their national agenda that is in line with Agenda 2030 and Africa Agenda 2063.

El-Said highlighted that the National Agenda for Sustainable Development: Egypt Vision 2030 identified basic pillars, the most prominent of which is that people are the focus of development and that the success of the vision must include achieving justice and accessibility.

“Egypt has begun to integrate the green transformation into its investment agendas,” She said.

El-Said asserted that following the launch of a guide to environmental sustainability standards, workers in all public institutions are being trained on how to integrate the environmental dimension into all projects.

El-Said also indicated that Egypt has expanded the construction of green buildings and cities.

She noted that 24 new sustainable cities in different regions have been constructed.

The side event witnessed the presence of Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin, the UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for COP27 and UN Special Envoy on Financing the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, Dr. Abdullah Al-Dardari, Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations and Regional Director of the United Nations Development Program for Arab States, and Stephane Gimbert, Regional Director of the World Bank for Egypt, Yemen and Djibouti.

Haitham Al-Maayerji, Executive Vice President of the World Trade Bank, and Renate de Lange Snyders, a global leader in sustainability at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), also participated in the event.

  The session was moderated by Sherine Zorba, Director of the Secretariat of the United Nations Science-Policy-Business Forum on the Environment.