Sharm El Sheikh, 14 November 2022 (ECA) – The ECA Office for North Africa will hold, in partnership with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) a COP27 side event on “Leveraging private sector development to drive green transition” on 15 November 2022 in Sharm El Sheikh (Egypt).
Africa is one of the most vulnerable regions to climate change despite being responsible for only 3.8% of global CO2 emissions. The region is also particularly exposed to increases in traditional energy prices.
SMEs currently account for 90 percent of Africa’s private sector. They are the main energy user and greenhouse gas producer in the region. Transitioning African economies towards green growth will require a paradigm shift in the way governments and the private sector make decisions, and bringing about a business environment that facilitates and incentivizes energy-saving measures and the use of clean energy among all types of firms including SMEs.
Africa is also still in the process of building much of the infrastructures required to meet essential energy, water security, transportation and urbanisation needs. Given the public sector’s limited investment capacity, the private sector, and especially the ICT sector, can play a critical role in Africa’s green transition.
To make this possible, African governments are required to create an enabling environment and governance framework that will help catalyse the private sector’s capacity to mobilize additional resources, knowledge, and innovation to address climate change challenges.
This event will feature speakers from ECA, ITU, UNIDO and UNEP.
What: COP27 side event on “Leveraging private sector development to drive green transition”
When: 15 November 2022, from 17:00 to 18:30 EET
Where: Sharm El-Sheikh International Convention Center (SHICC), SDG pavilion or online https://bit.ly/3sXYT7Y
Languages: Simultaneous translation will be available in English, French and Arabic.
For more information about this event, please send an email to filali-ansary@un.org or a WhatsApp message to: (+212) (0) 673 734 462