Transition to green cities reduces climate change-related losses: Mohieldin – Climate change – COP27

UN Climate Change High-Level Champion and UN Special Envoy for Egypt Mahmoud Mohildin

His comments came during a session about a green urban future in the shadow of the climate crisis during the 38th annual African Union for Housing Finance conference on November 28-30 in Cairo.

Mohildin, who is also the United Nations Special Envoy on Financing the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, said building green cities will help provide job opportunities and reduce infrastructure costs, stimulate the productivity of businesses, add value to tourism increase, achieve sustainable economic growth and increase food and water security.

He said the transition to green urban societies would provide cleaner air and water, enhance human health and increase habitat for endangered species. Nature-based solutions will also increase finance efficiency and increase the value of the money available for climate action, he added.

According to Mohildin, cities play an important role in activating climate action for several reasons. First, they contribute to the climate crisis by emitting the greatest amount of greenhouse gases, which require mitigation. Second, most urban areas are located on coasts threatened by sea level rise, which calls for adaptation measures.

Third, cities can reduce the harm and damage caused by climate change by hosting early warning systems and providing social protection to people. Furthermore, cities are economic engines that can mobilize finance for climate action.

“The COP27 Presidential Sustainable Urban Resilience for the Next Generation (Surge) initiative aims to scale up and accelerate local and urban climate action through multi-level governance, which holistically supports the Paris Climate Goals and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) contributes to achieving,” Mohildin said.

Mohildin said High-Level Climate Champions (HLCs) can work with non-state entities in cities to help achieve NetZero targets through mitigation. The HLC can push for the implementation of the Sharm el-Sheikh Adaptation Agenda, which can accelerate the transition of sectors including food and agriculture, water and nature, coastal and ocean systems, human settlements and infrastructure that are most vulnerable to climate change. Increases resilience to.

“COP27, the five regional roundtable initiatives launched by the United Nations Regional Economic Commissions and the Egyptian Presidency of the HLC resulted in a pipeline of projects to help urban societies reduce emissions and adapt to climate change in a holistic approach which aims to achieve the SDGs by involving all the stakeholders including the private sector,” Mohildin said.

mohildin said National Initiative for Smart Green Projects provided an Egyptian model for local climate action. It has also produced an investment map for Egypt’s governorates, stressing that this efficient model can be replicated in different countries.

He explained that of Race to Resilience signatory cities, 80 percent reported having a climate action strategy. He said that HLCs can push towards converting these strategies into real implementation to achieve resilience for four billion people by 2030.

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