On Cop28 sidelines: The Ministry of Planning and Economic Development holds a discussion session entitled “Building a Sustainable Future: The Role of Smart Green Projects in Accelerating the Transition to Sustainable Energy"

The Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, represented by the National Initiative for Smart Green Projects, held a discussion session entitled “Building a Sustainable Future: The Role of Smart Green Projects in Accelerating the Transition to Sustainable Energy.”

This took place during the activities of the 28th edition of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28), which was held during the period from November 30 to December 12 in the United Arab Emirates.

The session was attended by Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin, climate pioneer for the Egyptian presidency of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Climate Change Convention (COP 27), Ambassador Hisham Badr, Assistant Minister of Planning and Economic Development for Partnerships for Strategy, Excellence and Initiatives and General Coordinator of the National Initiative for Smart Green Projects.

  Also, the session witnessed the presence of Mohamed Al-Suwaidi, President of the Egyptian Federation of Industries, Alessandro Fracasetti, Director of the United Nations Development Program in Egypt (UNDP), Adam Kotter, Vice President of the German DZ Bank (DZ), Ambassador Nada Al-Agizy, Chairperson of the Sustainable Development and Strategic Partnerships Committee of The Arab League and Ahmed Rizk, Director United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) office in Egypt.

Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin responded quickly to the political leadership of the initiative, emphasizing the ability of the initiative to create a model of cooperation between the government and the governorates at the local level, which created a state of movement.

Mohieddin added that the initiative took into account the participation of different categories of companies to include six categories, which included a category of large projects, a category of medium projects, a category of small projects, a category of non-profit initiatives, a category of new projects and a category of related projects to women

Mohieldin added that the initiative was able to produce more than 12,000 solutions in the form of projects, noting the need to create a space of unity for the efforts of all the partners of the initiative, away from the ideological directions of support and funding. for companies participating in the initiative. 

 

 Mohieldin emphasized that the initiative and projects receive multifaceted support from international and national organizations such as UNIDO, the United Nations Development Program, the Arab League, and the Egyptian Industrial Organization.

For his part, Ambassador Hisham Badr reviewed the stages of work of the National Initiative for Smart Green Projects, referring to the success achieved by the winning projects in the first cycle as a result of the support and opportunities provided to them by the initiative.

  Badr stressed the ability of the winning projects in the second cycle of the initiative to produce innovative solutions to the challenges of climate change, and at the same time be able to provide job opportunities.

Badr appreciated the role of the initiative's partners as one of the most important reasons for the initiative's success, and their participation in providing many types of support, such as technical support, and participation in spreading awareness.

For his part, Adam Kotter praised the initiative and expressed the keenness of DZ Bank - the second largest bank in Germany to study ways of cooperation regarding financing green projects.

Mohammed Al Suwaidi also pointed out the importance of supporting the initiative by holding several meetings with the winning projects in the presence of experts in each sector to discuss ways to develop these projects and expand their implementation.

Ambassador Nada Al-Agizi also explained that the League of Arab States had devoted a session to present the initiative among member states as a model that should be emulated and applied in other countries to advance the green economy and achieve sustainable development.