The Developed World Is Being Urged By Egypt's Cop27 Presidency To Maintain Mutual Trust In Order To Achieve Sustainability Goals

Egypt's COP27 Presidency emphasised the importance of the developed world keeping its climate pledges to avoid "erosion of trust" in the COP process at the Pre-COP 27 meeting in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, which was attended by more than 50 climate ministers and envoys.

Speaking to an audience including over 50 climate ministers and envoys from around the world about the impact of pledges not being met, H.E. Sameh Shoukry, Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs and COP27 President-Designate, said: “We have not yet delivered on the 100 billion dollars’ pledge, which in itself is more a symbol of trust and reassurance than a remedy to actual climate needs”.

He highlighted that “mitigation finance is receiving more attention than adaptation” and that “instruments of finance are still mostly non-concessional loans rather than concessional loans and grants which account for only six percent of climate finance. We must find a way to address this challenge. Without appropriate and fair finance, we will all continue to struggle in delivering impactful climate action.” The COP27 President also spoke about the need to make progress stating that, “delaying action will only make it harder and more expensive.”

Also focusing on urging nations to address the trust deficit, H.E. Shoukry stated, “we must develop and cultivate a sense of mutual trust and understanding. Our effort must not be approached as a zero-sum equation. We must all rise to the occasion and demonstrate leadership, set aside narrow national interests, and appreciate the potential in cooperation, compromise, and collective win-win scenarios”.