Egypt and African Development Bank discuss Africa’s climate agenda ahead of COP27

The parties also discussed how best the Bank can generally support Egypt, one of the institution’s major shareholders.

Egypt will host a critical meeting in September aimed at rallying African leaders for a single voice on Nationally Determined Contributions to cut emissions and adapt to climate change ahead of the world’s premier climate conference, COP27. Egypt will host COP 27 this November.

This is the first time in six years that the global event will take place on African soil. It comes as the continent faces a growing climate threat and a huge resource deficit—of $1.6 trillion in climate finance over the next decade, according to the African Development Bank—to address the risks to lives and livelihoods.

Senior Egyptian officials met with African Development Bank senior management in Abidjan on 14 June to discuss their individual and collective agendas in the run-up to the all-important climate summit. The parties also discussed how best the Bank can generally support Egypt, one of the institution’s major shareholders.

Egypt’s Minister for International Cooperation, Dr. Rania Almashat—who led her country’s delegation—said the discussions would take place during the Egypt International Cooperation Forum, to be held in the North African country in September, two months before COP 27.

The Egypt International Cooperation Forum will bring together governments, development partners, the private sector, civil society and think tanks, to showcase successful practices and champion new initiatives that balance sustainable development and environmental needs. It is the second time the Forum has been held since its first edition in 2021.

“That’s where your presence as the African Development Bank is extremely important because we want to come out of [the Forum] with a declaration of Africa asks for Finance Day during COP,” said Almashat.

The African Development Bank Group’s Senior Vice President, Bajabulile Swazi Tshabalala, led last Tuesday’s meeting. With her were Vice President for Power, Energy, Climate and Green Growth, Kevin Kariuki; Acting Chief Economist and Vice President for Economic Governance and Knowledge Management, Kevin Urama; Acting Director General, Office of the President, Alex Mburi; Officer-in-Charge of the Climate Change and Green Growth Department, Al Hamndou Dorsouma; and Director and Special Advisor to the President, Gauthier Bourlard.

Accompanying Minister Almashat were the UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for Egypt, Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin; African Development Bank Executive Director for Egypt Ahmed Zayed; Egypt’s Ambassador to Côte d’Ivoire, Dr. Wael Badawi; and the Third Secretary at the Embassy of Egypt, Mohamed Dardiry.

Tshabalala pointed out that Egypt is one of the African Development Bank’s leading shareholders. The Senior Vice President said: “Egypt is an important member of this bank and has been from day one...We prioritize the relationship that we have with you and we are always looking for opportunities to strengthen those relationships. This year is a particularly important one because of COP. Egypt, like a lot of countries, is also facing challenges. This is what we exist to do, to help our member countries address some of these challenges.”

Tshabalala said the African Development Bank stood ready to help Egypt cope with global challenges, such as the impact of Russia’s war in Ukraine, which has led to worldwide food shortages. She said the Bank Group’s board had approved a $1.5 billion emergency food facility to address the crisis. She explained that, regarding climate challenges, the Bank expects to announce a new initiative at COP 27.

Vice Presidents Kariuki and Urama cited the Bank’s recently released African Economic Outlook, which is premised on the theme of climate resilience and a just energy transition. They highlighted one of the report’s key findings, which showed that Africa needs around $1.6 trillion in climate finance over the next decade, or about $127 billion each year.