Beirut Finance Forum seeks to propel wave of climate finance among Arab States 

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Register here for the fourth Regional Finance Forum in Beirut, Lebanon (15 September)

The fourth of five Regional Finance Forums will take place in Beirut, Lebanon on 15 September and will focus on the opportunities and initiatives in climate finance in the context of the SDGs.

Hosted by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), the forum is one of five events organized by the Egyptian Presidency of COP27 and the UN Climate Change High-Level Champions that convenes multiple private and public stakeholders from the Arabic region to discuss how to accelerate climate finance. Confirmed speakers include Rola Dashti, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary for ESCWA, Jassim Abdul Aziz al-Falahi, the Iraqi Minister of Environment, and Patrick Verkooijen, CEO of the Global Center on Adaptation.

As with all countries, putting the environment and climate resilience at the heart of sustainable development is fundamental for western Asia. But to ensure the region weathers the storm of climate breakdown – and maintains water, energy and food security – more must be done to mobilize finance among Arab States.

The forum aims to accelerate this kind of progress by showcasing bankable projects with a view to accelerating implementation in the region. In this context, Mahmoud Mohieldin, UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for Egypt commented: “Climate action has to be regionalized. This COP27 is not just about Egypt, but also Africa, the Arab region, and the developing economies at large. With cooperation and coordination more impact can be achieved.”

The initiatives, to be catalysed by innovative forms of finance and regional initiatives, can create opportunities for private sector investment, blended finance and bilateral support. The Forum will:

• Facilitate engagement with a broad set of partners and stakeholders to accelerate public and private investment mobilization and blended finance opportunities around concrete projects and initiatives;
• Identify synergies and entry-points for climate finance to support the acceleration of access to clean energy, energy efficiency technologies as well as means for ensuring water and food security, which remain key catalysts for the attainment of the SDGs as well as mitigation and adaptation goals in the Arab region;
• Connect institutional investors, private sector financiers and development partners with governments and brokers dialogues around co-creating investment opportunities in support of regional priority actions.

Case studies on water, forests, farming, cooling and solar will be presented by, amongst others, the Egyptian Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, the Lebanese Ministry of Environment, the Jordanian Ministry of Environment, the Tunisian Ministry of Agriculture, Water Resources and Fisheries, Tunisia, and the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity.

The final Forum will take place in:

Geneva, Switzerland (17 October) – High-Level Roundtable on ‘enhancing sustainable management and financing for the critical raw materials required for low-carbon transitions

Read more in the concept note here.