Planning Minister participate in the activities of the second day of the 5th high-level meeting of heads of African courts

The fifth high-level meeting of the heads of African constitutional courts, supreme courts, and constitutional councils opened in Cairo on Saturday under the auspices of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi.The three-day meeting focuses on combating terrorism in the African continent, digital transformation, health care because of the spread of the coronavirus, and the green economy.


Egypt’s Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Dr. Hala El-Said participated in the opening session was held under Saeed Marie, the head of the Egyptian Supreme Constitutional Court, and moderated by his deputy Adel Omar Sherif.


She also participated in the activities of the second day of the 5th high-level meeting of heads of African courts in a session entitled “Greening the Economy and Decarbonizing the Economy”.
The session also witnessed the participation of Dr. Frank Rijsberman is the Director-General of the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), Counselor Sherine Farhoud, Chairperson of the Board of Commissioners at the Supreme Constitutional Court of Egypt, Dr. Sung-Chul Shin , former president of Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology - KAIST, and Dr. Bakari Kanti, former director of the Department of Environmental Law and International Agreements at the United Nations Environment Programme.



During her speech, El-Said said that the green economy is a key element to achieving sustainable development and eliminating poverty in Africa, in addition to its role in enhancing the resilience of African economies to face various shocks such as the Corona pandemic.


El-Said continued that strong institutions, governance frameworks, and the legislative environment are proactive requirements for a smooth transition towards a green economy in Africa, stressing the indispensable role of the constitutional and supreme courts and constitutional councils in Africa in this regard.
El-Said talked about four main points, including the opportunities and challenges facing the African continent, the green economy, and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as exchanging some experiences and best practices from Egypt in this regard, following up that the real GDP of Africa is expected to grow to 3.4% in the year 2021 after declining to 2.1% in 2020.


El-Said explained that the African continent is rich in natural resources, in addition to the large proportions of renewable and non-renewable energy resources in the world.


El-Said added that Africa faces many economic, social, and environmental challenges, stressing that the sustainable management of natural resources and natural capital is the key to achieving growth and prosperity in Africa.


El-Said explained that the African continent has taken several measures to enhance regional integration policies by adopting the African Continental Free Trade Agreement and its entry into force in January 2021, as well as implementing some regional infrastructure projects within the framework of the Presidential Initiative for Infrastructure in Africa.


On the green economy, El-Said said that it is known as a low-carbon economy that saves resources and manages environmental resources without harming the environment, explaining that it represents a tool that helps Africa achieve inclusive and sustainable growth, create decent job opportunities, and enhance sustainable and resilient infrastructure by promoting renewable energy and resource efficiency while maintaining biological diversity. 


El-Said continued that the green economy also contributes to accelerating recovery efforts from the effects of the Corona pandemic, explaining that many countries have shown their orientation towards green recovery through sustainable infrastructure, renewable energy, creating green job opportunities, innovation, digital transformation, and technology.


“To facilitate the transition towards a green economy and a low-carbon future, Africa needs sustainable investment, technology transformation, and capacity building,” El-Said said.


She added that there is a dire need for public-private partnership and participation of development partners, stakeholders, market forces, and policies to support the transition.
El-Said also noted that the issuance of green bonds and loans rose from nothing 10 years ago, to an estimated $320 billion this year worldwide, which would never have happened without an inclusive dialogue between relevant stakeholders.

On Africa's transition towards a green economy before the outbreak of the epidemic in 2015, El-Said referred to Africa's launch of several "green" initiatives, including the African Renewable Energy Initiative and the African Adaptation Initiative, to address climate change.


El-Said explained that although Africa is the least contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions, it is the most affected by climate change and the most vulnerable to its effects.


“To strengthen the collective efforts of the continent of Africa to confront the epidemic, the African Union has established a joint fund to respond to the Corona pandemic, as well as increasing the budget of the African Center for Disease Control,” El-Said explained.


El-Said talked about the Egyptian efforts for green recovery from the effects of the Corona pandemic, stressing the state's focus on investing in the human element, rearranging development priorities, and focusing on social protection and support for the poorest groups and the informal sector, as well as the health care sector.


El-Said added that environmental sustainability criteria have been adopted, which aims to green the investment plan following these criteria, as 15% of the projects included in the 2020/2021 plan represent green projects, and the government aims to double that percentage in 2021/2022 plan to reach 50% in the year 2024/2025.


El-Said added that the application of environmental sustainability standards aims to ensure the flexibility of key sectors such as supply chains, communications, information technology, agriculture, logistics, and industry, while continuing to establish and improve infrastructure, especially in the field of clean and sustainable transportation, renewable energy and energy efficiency.



El-Said also referred to the issuance of green bonds worth $750 million, to make Egypt the leading country in the Middle East and Africa in this regard, to provide additional financial resources through innovative mechanisms for green projects, especially in the field of clean transportation.


El-Said also talked about the first national report on financing for development, which deals with the various sectors of the Egyptian economy and their contribution to financing sustainable development goals.


El-Said added that Egypt is currently implementing a project to develop a strategy to estimate the cost of implementing the sustainable development goals at the national level by the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development on the part of the Egyptian government, and the office of the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Egypt on the part of the United Nations.


El-Said noted that the Ministries of Planning, Economic Development, and the Environment are working with the relevant ministries and the private sector to agree on a set of "green incentives" to encourage the private sector and entrepreneurs to shift towards a green economy.