His Excellency Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al-Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and President-designate of the Conference of the Parties (COP28), stressed the need to develop the performance of international financial institutions and multilateral development banks, in order to simultaneously achieve progress in both climate action and sustainable development.
This came during his visit to the US capital, Washington, in conjunction with the spring meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund, and his participation in a high-level international panel discussion.
His Excellency participated in a series of meetings on the sidelines of the meetings, with a number of ministers and officials of international, multilateral and private financing institutions, including a panel discussion hosted by Kristalina Georgieva, Director of the International Monetary Fund, and Mark Carney, the United Nations Special Envoy on Climate Action and Finance, where His Excellency stressed the urgent need to provide more financing on easy terms and at an appropriate cost in order to achieve growth and prosperity for all societies, especially the countries of the Global South.
This visit comes as part of the global listening and communication tour that His Excellency is making to meet partners and stakeholders in governments, civil society, youth, the private sector, international organizations, non-governmental organizations and others, as part of the preparation for the twenty-eighth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28), which is being hosted by The UAE from November 30 to December 12, 2023.
On this occasion, His Excellency Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber said: “In the eight years that followed the historic Paris Agreement, we have seen the close interdependence between sustainable development goals and climate action. climate, especially in the global south.
His Excellency explained that one of the main enablers of success in sustainable development and climate action is capital and financing, which currently does not adequately reach those who need it most, as only 20% of clean technology investments reach developing countries that make up more than 70% of the world’s population. This disparity increases in the least developed countries, which get less than 2 cents from every dollar of those investments, pointing out that these numbers affect the lives of families and societies that should have the right to develop their capabilities, unleash their potential and contribute to achieving sustainable global prosperity. And stressing the need to apply the business mentality and an approach that focuses on the practical side of the COP28 work system to enable the required qualitative shift and the radical progress that the world needs.
His Excellency also noted that investing in clean technology, financing adaptation and supporting a logical, realistic and gradual transition in the energy sector requires a tripling of the amount of available funds by 2030, especially in developing countries, and stressed the need to reach a new agreement on climate financing in the countries of the Global South to meet development needs and climate action simultaneously.
His Excellency said, “As the UAE prepares to host COP28, my team and I have spent the past three months listening and communicating with a wide range of stakeholders in the countries of the Global South, and what I have repeatedly heard from them is that climate finance is neither readily available nor affordable, nor is it It is easily accessible.So, we need to turn billions into trillions.When it comes to affordability,we need to boost climate finance without putting developing countries into more debt.To make access to finance easier,the bureaucratic hurdles that make countries She’s been waiting a long time to get much needed money.”
His Excellency indicated that some progress had been made in addressing the issue of financing, and stressed the need to achieve more, saying, “Last year, the World Bank Group issued a ‘road map for development’. However, much needs to be done quickly, including developing the performance of International financial institutions and multilateral development banks to implement the goals of climate action and achieve sustainable development, we also need to provide more concessional financing that can reduce risks in low-income countries, attract more capital from the private sector, in addition to discovering new tools to direct private financing to developing countries more effectively and efficiently.
His Excellency pointed out that, through the leadership’s vision, the UAE has an outstanding record in building qualitative and multilateral partnerships between the government and private sectors to implement clean energy projects in developing countries around the world, including more than 30 small island developing countries. The UAE is keen to deepen partnership and cooperation to enhance its efforts in this field, expressing his hope to activate both government and private financing to achieve development and climate goals simultaneously.
During his visit to the US capital, Washington, His Excellency met many dignitaries, including His Excellency Mia Motley, Prime Minister of Barbados, His Excellency Penman Prasad, Deputy Prime Minister of Fiji, His Excellency Ken Ofori Atta, Minister of Finance of Ghana, and His Excellency Libombo Chime, Minister of Finance of Namibia. , Damilola Ogunbiyi, CEO and Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General of the Sustainable Energy for All Initiative and Co-Chair of the United Nations Energy Network, Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Mark Carney, United Nations Special Envoy on Climate Action and Finance, and John Kerry, US Presidential Envoy climate since 2021.
His Excellency’s visit to Washington comes as a continuation of his efforts aimed at supporting the development of international financing institutions and multilateral development banks, and stressing the need to provide greater financial support to finance dealing with losses and damages resulting from the repercussions of climate change. In this context, it is also planned that His Excellency will participate next June in the New Global Financial Pact Summit, which will be held in France and hosted by His Excellency Emmanuel Macron, the French President, where the participating countries will discuss the importance of developing the performance of international financing institutions to support the financing of societies most vulnerable to the repercussions of climate change.
#Presidentdesignate #COP28 #renews #call #develop #performance #international #financing #institutions #support #economic #growth #climate #action