Mohieldin urges investing in saving oceans

09 / 11 / 2022

By Marwa Nassar - -

Mahmoud Mohieldin, UN Climate Change High Level Champion for Egypt and UN Special Envoy on Financing 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, stressed the importance of saving oceans and investing in this action, adding that saving the ecosystem and its diversity makes it a must not to compromise the sustainable goal of saving ocean and sea life.

“Egypt -as the president of COP- is looking forward to the success of such initiatives that aim to save environment and it’s diversity.” Mohieldin said, adding that achieving all SDGs including this goal requires scientific solutions, sufficient finance and societies behavior change.

His remarks came during his participation in a session entitled “The Great Blue Wall.. Accelerating and Scaling Up Ocean Action in the Western Indian Ocean” on the second day of the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Sharm El Sheikh, with the participation of Seychelles President Wavel Ramkalawan, and a number of African ministers and representatives of international organizations, African Union and HLCs.

He said that hosting a COP27 in Africa makes it a COP of implementation as Africa is in need to the actual implementation of climate action.

Mohieldin said that Africa contributes by only 3% of the carbon emissions until the moment, but this will not last forever as the African countries and people have their problems and ambitions of improving livelihoods and accessing electricity to all Africans, and these may increase emissions in case that Africa interest to green transforming does not taken seriously.

Mohieldin noted that African countries work together regarding development and climate action, launch initiatives and create alliances which are very promising such as the Green Hydrogen alliance and the Great Blue Wall initiative, explaining that Africa has solutions but it needs collaboration with the developed countries in the fields of technology and financing.

Mohieldin emphasized the importance of activating innovative finance instruments to finance climate and development action in Africa in a way that help achieve just transition in continent’s countries.