CIB sponsors a panel on sectoral decarbonization for regional transformation at COP27 to help expedite the decarbonization of the economy in line with Egypt Vision 2030

The sustainable development strategy "Egypt Vision 2030" from the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development was the main topic of conversation, with a focus on what financial institutions can do to speed up the decarbonization of the economy.

The session was presided over by Minister of Planning and Economic Development Hala El-Said, who provided insight into the contribution of the private sector to the attainment of national development goals, including targets for the reduction of carbon emissions.

El-Said noted the government's efforts to green its national investment plan and projects, noting that 30% of NIP projects were green in FY2021/2022, with the goal of increasing that percentage to 50% by FY2024/25.

Also on Solutions Day at COP27, El-Said said, "Friends of Greening National Investment Plans in Africa and Developing Countries" would be launched by the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development.

El-Said noted that CIB has also issued a green bond and that Egypt is the first Middle Eastern country to issue $750 million in "green bonds" to mobilise money for green initiatives.

As Dalia Abdelkader, CIB's Chief Sustainability Officer, put it, "CIB is among pioneers in the banking sector for measuring and producing a report on its carbon footprint in 2017," the company is capitalising on its past decarbonization efforts. To further demonstrate our commitment to building a leading system that specifies the role of banking institutions that undertake responsibility for carbon, land, and water impacts, we have taken the initiative to implement globally benchmarked ecological footprint reporting in 2020.

AbdelKader added: “CIB established the ‘Sustaining Sectors’ initiative for corporate, a multi-purpose platform that intends to give support, including capacity building, to a wide percentage of companies across diverse sectors as they transition to a low carbon economy. The Bank's clients in the textile, green building, and food industries have benefited from the program's individualised workshops, and the initiative will continue to grow in the coming year.

The importance of financial firms decarbonizing their own balance sheets and assisting other real economy businesses in doing the same was a primary topic of discussion during the panel. Because of the difficulty of decarbonization and the necessity of multi-stakeholder participation and collaboration, there has been talk of giving African financial institutions more responsibility and boosting their role in the process. Moreover, commercial banks may steer this shift and pave the way for the decarbonization of businesses and, eventually, the real economy as a whole because of the considerable sway they wield. There was a lot of back-and-forth between banks, corporations, and specialists on the topic of green built environments and energy solutions, which the panel presented as case studies.

To further the region's decarbonization goals and to extend its support to stakeholders in achieving sustainable growth, CIB is capitalising on its longstanding expertise in sustainability and its membership in the Capital Mobilization workstream under the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net-Zero (GFANZ).