Egypt urges scalable climate investment models for Africa

Egypt’s Environment Minister Yasmine Fouad and African climate envoy Seyni Nafo have agreed to step up efforts to transform Africa’s climate adaptation priorities into bankable investment pipelines, with a focus on food security and risk-reduction financing models.

In a meeting held on the sidelines of ongoing regional climate consultations, Minister Fouad and Nafo – coordinator of the African Adaptation Initiative and a board member of the Green Climate Fund – discussed the need to convert national adaptation plans into implementable, fundable projects with replicable frameworks across the continent.

The Egyptian minister called for stronger technical support to build project pipelines, particularly those that integrate climate adaptation with food security, biodiversity protection, and desertification control – areas she described as critical under mounting global climate and geopolitical pressures.

Citing Egypt’s experience in mobilising finance for renewable energy, including the $475 million Benban Solar Park, Minister Fouad said similar de-risking tools could encourage private and smallholder investment in climate-smart agriculture. She also noted Egypt’s progress on mapping climate risk and developing financing systems with the French Development Agency and the Green Climate Fund (GCF).

Nafo said food security will be a top adaptation priority in Africa, especially for small and mid-sized projects, and underscored the importance of engaging banks to view agriculture as a core component of economic resilience. He added that new financial instruments are being designed to assess and manage risk in adaptation investments.

He also outlined plans to train African experts to support local institutions seeking GCF accreditation, a move aimed at improving access to adaptation funding and fostering public-private collaboration on climate technology, finance, and solutions.

Attribution: Amwal Al Ghad English

Subediting: Y.Yasser