Localised investment map, smart solutions highly urged: Egypt’s High-Level Climate Champion

Localised investment map, smart solutions highly urged: Egypt’s High-Level Climate Champion

Egypt - Mahmoud Mohieldin — Egypt’s UN Climate Change High-Level Champion — stressed on Wednesday the paramount importance of adopting a holistic approach when addressing climate change in order not to deviate from the UN sustainable development goals (SDGs).

Such a holistic approach puts into consideration finance, adaptation, loss and damage besides mitigation, he said, warning against using a reductionist approach to climate change, which would minimise action to simply mean decarbonisation, especially that the world is living today in uncertain and challenging times in light of the remnants of the COVID-19 pandemic, global conflict, hiking food and energy prices, and spiralling inflation rates.

These statements were part of Mohieldin’s opening remarks in Africa Climate Week in Gabon in the presence of Gabonese President Ali Bongo Ondimba, Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry, and a host of ministers and senior officials from the UN and other African countries.

In his speech, the climate champion highlighted the priorities of climate action and the required innovative solutions to deal with the climate change file.

According to Mohieldin, a number of developed countries — who have already achieved high levels of economic development and standards of living — are attempting to dictate conditions regarding sustainability that