Egypt on Sunday urged the African states to hold a meeting to coordinate the continent’s stances in preparation for the COP27 Climate Summit, which it will host in Sharm el-Sheikh next November.
During a workshop held by Morocco via videoconference on “The challenges of mobilizing capital markets to finance the transition to a sustainable energy market,” Egyptian Ambassador to Ethiopia and the African Union Mohamed Omar Gad said Cairo invited the African states to hold the consultative session on the issues related to climate and energy before the Climate Summit.
The workshop in Morocco comes on the sidelines of a conference for African ministers of finance, planning, and economic development, which will kick off Monday in the Senegalese capital, Dakar.
The coordination session for which Egypt called comes to complete the meetings held during the latest African Union Summit in February in Addis Ababa to consolidate a unified African stance on climate issues and present it in COP27.
Egypt is seeking to increase its dependence on renewable energy from 18 percent to 45 percent by 2025, according to Gad, who urged the African states to focus on achieving just transition to renewable energy and providing sustainable energy to the green energy projects in Africa in addition to following up the implementation of commitments which Africa received in previous climate summits.
Also during the workshop, Jean-Paul Adam, Director for Technology, Climate Change and Natural Resources Management in the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa said African countries still represent less than one percent of the share green bonds issued to finance renewable energy and green economy projects, according to Egypt’s official news agency, MENA.
In a related development, Green America's Mission to Egypt, a US delegation comprising representatives of various companies and financing bodies, is visiting Cairo to observe the chances of investing in the green energy domain in Egypt.
On the occasion of their visit, the office of the US special presidential climate envoy and the American Chamber of Commerce in Cairo organized a meeting to discuss the green energy issue.
Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry participated on Sunday in the event, which he said is meant to enhance relations between the two countries at all levels and to build on the outcomes of the strategic dialogue between Egypt and the US.
