Cairo: Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly highlighted challenges facing African states, including Egypt, to fulfill their climate commitments, stressing that advanced countries must take the lead with regard to climate finance. Madbouly made the remarks during the 29th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), hosted by the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, from 11 to 22 November. The premier is participating in the global event on behalf of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.

According to State Information Service Egypt, in his speech, Madbouly emphasized that Egypt and other African countries face challenges in accessing appropriate funding, with this access linked to conditionalities involving the execution of rapid measures that do not consider the social and economic conditions in their states. In light of the conference’s efforts to reach an agreement on the New Collective Quantified Goal for finance (NCQG), Madbouly emphasized that advanced countries must play the p
rimary role in financing.

Madbouly highlighted the conference as an opportunity to reaffirm the commitment of various parties to implementing their commitments in accordance with the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement, especially concerning providing financing to support developing countries. He mentioned reports from the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa indicating that African countries already direct up to 5% of their gross domestic product towards addressing climate change.

The prime minister stressed that grants and highly concessional loans represent the majority of funding, noting that commercial interest rate loans cannot be considered climate finance due to the increased debt burden they entail. He underlined the need to address access difficulties to available financing, reaffirming once again the Egyptian negotiating team’s commitment to supporting the Azerbaijani presidency in the success of the conference and achieving collective aspirations.

Madbouly
stated the Baku climate change conference is being held amidst regional and international crises and wars, amid significant climate events that are increasing in number, impact, and unpredictability. He highlighted the economic and human losses that impose additional pressures on the countries. The prime minister affirmed that Egypt is keen on adopting a comprehensive national approach aimed at transitioning to sustainable development in harmony with the environment.

The Conference of the Parties (COP) is the UNFCCC’s decision-making body that convenes annually to assess progress and plan future actions. COP29, hosted by Azerbaijan under the theme “In Solidarity for a Green World,” is critical due to escalating climate impacts and the urgent need to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius as per the Paris Agreement. This session focuses on finalizing the NCQG, designed to assist developing nations in combating climate change, aiming to offer a more ambitious and practical financial structure following th
e $100 billion annual climate finance commitment set for 2020, a target that was met in 2022 after a delay.