Boosting Egypt’s leadership on climate action

The COP27, held in November 2022 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, led to breakthrough agreements on climate financing for developing countries. This landmark conference was the first COP held in a country with a UN team since the UN development system reforms kicked off five years ago, organized with the support of a reinvigorated UN Resident Coordinator system. Now, representatives of Member States and the UN Development Coordination Office gathered at UN headquarters to discuss how the Resident Coordinator system helped streamline UN action to support Egypt make COP27 a success and follow-up with concrete climate action. 

According to Ambassador Osama Mahmoud, the Permanent Representative of Egypt to the UN, the close coordination between the Resident Coordinator and the Government during the preparatory, implementation and follow-up phase of COP27 helped pave the way towards a successful COP Presidency term. On the global level, this cooperation began with the creation of the UN Task Team on COP27, which was co-chaired by the Resident Coordinator and the UN Secretary-General’s Special Adviser for Climate Action Mr. Selwin Hart. By coordinating action across 15 UN entities, the Task Team was critical in helping avoid duplications and loopholes and facilitating smooth cooperation between different partners, which he described as ‘a vivid example of the important role of the Resident Coordinator.’

Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, the Egyptian Minister of International Cooperation, pointed to the development of the ‘Sharm el Sheikh Guidebook for Just Financing’ as a concrete example of the UN’s contribution. According to Dr. Rania, the Resident Coordinator’s role in leveraging this network of knowledge during the development of the Guidebook was ‘practical, operational and hands-on.’   

The Resident Coordinator, Ms. Elena Panova, explained that guided by the clear purpose and vision of the Egyptian Government, the RC rallied the UN country team to serve as a ‘one stop shop’ for the COP27 Presidency on the UN side. The Resident Coordinator’s Office also supported the Government to launch a series of 14 COP27 Presidential Initiatives during the conference; spanning issues from water security, debt, food system transformation and the connections between climate and peace.  

Echoing this sentiment, Ambassador Mohamed Nasr, the lead COP27 negotiator, pointed to the importance of continued collaboration with the UN to help carry the goals of COP27 forward and support Egypt’s climate ambitions at home. 

The newly signed joint roadmap to advance the Sustainable Development Goals, the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework, will advance this aim, further strengthening Egypt’s climate action through its partnership with the UN on the ground. In her concluding remarks, the Resident Coordinator described the COP27 experience ‘as a catalyst to deliver Egypt’s future climate ambitions’ and ‘a springboard’ to boost climate resilience, with adaptation and mitigation measures, in the years ahead. 

Read the Case Study on coordination results in Egypt here.