Mohieldin: Achieving net zero target not impossible

10 / 10 / 2022

By Marwa Nassar - -

Dr Mahmoud Mohieldin, United Nations Climate Change High Level Champion for Egypt and UN Special Envoy on Financing 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, said that achieving the net zero target is not impossible, calling for boosting investments in the renewables and emissions reduction projects to attain this goal.

He made the remarks during his speech via video to “Economist’s Impact Sustainable Week: Countdown to COP27” held in Abu Dhabi, with the participation of John Kerry, US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, and a number of high level officials, companies heads and businessmen from all over the world.

Mohieldin confirmed that achieving net zero is not impossible, but it requires pragmatic approach, scientific applicable solutions, unifying regional and international efforts, in addition to dealing realistically with energy sector’s challenges headed by the failure in some cases around the world to apply the targeted transition in the sector.

Mohieldin highlighted, in this context, the importance of the wise management of the energy sector transition especially that sources, technologies and implementation means are in hand, pointing to the necessity of investing in scientific research, developing energy technologies, seizing the opportunities related to solar energy, wind, green hydrogen and other green alternatives, beside the best usage of new technologies in dealing with fossil fuel emissions.

He explained that current crises, especially the Russian-Ukraine conflict and the intend of some countries to use fossil fuel as a source of energy, proved the urgent need to diversify energy sources and enhance the regional cooperation in this field.

Mohieldin said that financing the energy sector transition shouldn’t depend only on governments, but it has to go through Public and Private sectors Partnerships (PPPs), praising the role of the private sector regarding financing and implementing the mitigation measures either in the developed or the developing countries and emerging markets.

The climate champion stressed that the energy sector transition requires scaling up and increasing PPPs, enhancing the joint work between state and non state actors, and depending more on think tanks and scientific research centers in finding solutions that catalyst climate action.