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UNCT Report: UN spent $ 29.2 m on Environmental Sustainability & Climate Resilience in Egypt
The United Nations Country Team (UNCT) Annual Results Report said that the UN injected $ 29.6 million to promote Environmental Sustainability & Climate Resilience in Egypt in 2023.
In 2023, $253 million was made available to Egypt UNCT, of which $209 million was expended, resulting in an overall delivery rate of 83 percent, the report said.
The highest investments were made in the Strengthening Human Capital outcome with a total expenditure of $ 98.8 million, followed by Inclusive & Environmentally Sustainable Economic Development at $ 36.7 million, Environmental Sustainability & Climate Resilience at $ 29.6 million, Good Governance & Rule of Law at $ 28.7 million and Women & Girls’ Empowerment $ 15.4 million.
This is the first report under the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) 2023-2027. The UNSDCF was signed jointly by the UN and the Government of Egypt in May 2023 and it outlines the UNCT’s collaborative work in support of national efforts to adopt inclusive and sustainable development pathways and reach the targets of Egypt’s Vision 2030.
The main source of funding for the UNSDCF were non-core resources, representing approximately 95 percent of 2023 expenditure (i.e., core funding represented 5 percent of expenditure).
Additionally, the Government of Egypt (GOE) cost-sharing represented 14 per cent of expenditure. To this end, the UN received funding from more than 55 sources, of which 61 percent were bilateral and multilateral development partners, 8 percent were global/multilateral funds, and one percent were from the private sector, foundations and philanthropies. Pooled and thematic funds represented the remaining 11 percent of expenditure.
The top sources of funding were EU, USA, GOE, Netherlands, German-Egypt Debt Swap, Germany, Canada, Switzerland, GCF, GEF, CERF, Japan, Italy and Korea.
In 2023, the UN in Egypt continued to support the government’s efforts towards enhancing climate resilience and efficient natural resource management. This aligns with the country’s commitments to the SDGs, Egypt Vision 2030, National Strategy for Climate Change 2050, the Nexus of Water, Food and Energy Program (NWFE), Decent Life (Hayah Kareema) initiative, and other national strategies and international agreements.
The UN supported implementation of food security and sustainable agriculture initiatives to promote sustainable food production and consumption. Climate change resilience, adaptation, and early warning systems measures were also implemented to help the country adapt to the impacts of climate change.
The UN also partnered with the government on green and circular economy initiatives, including access to clean and renewable energy, waste management, and reduction of harmful pollutants including ozone depletion substances and greenhouse gases (GHGs).
The UN in 2023 supported sustainable urban planning to make cities more sustainable, balanced, inclusive and climate resilient.
In 2023, the UN supported the GOE in advancing management of land, water, agriculture inputs, wastewater, and agricultural and food waste, as key Government priorities. In this effort, the UN supported around 29,000 smallholder farmers, including 7,800 women, to adopt climate-smart agriculture practices to enhance agricultural productivity and sustainability.
This support included improving water management through irrigation rehabilitation, introducing climate-resilient crops and solutions, as well as enhancing income -generating activities for smallholder farmers.
Moreover, the UN supported the initiation of a Water/Climate Community-based Education and Awareness program in the Upper Egypt governorate of Menya to promote water conservation awareness among over 2,000 school students, teachers, community school facilitators, and municipal officers.
The UN supported the GOE in the development of 12 national, local and sectoral Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) preparedness, early warning and response strategies and/or plans, aligned with the Sendai Framework and NDCs. This included the launch of the strategic framework for DRR in agriculture in MOALR in addition to eight related plans/polices to tackle and reduce risks and impacts of different diseases on animals and plants.
Furthermore, the UN supported the GOE in covering 150,820 people (including 6,658 women) by early warning information through local governments, or through national dissemination mechanisms.
The UN facilitated the installation of 150 early warning systems across various regions in Egypt.
The UN also partnered with the GOE to support a just transition to a circular economy with a focus on resource efficiency, sustainable energy solutions, biodiversity and waste management, while driving market transformations with appropriate financial instruments, digital transformation, and improved regulatory and institutional frameworks.
The UN supported development of 10 national and five sub-national policy instruments aimed at supporting the shift to sustainable consumption and production in different sectors (e.g., agriculture, biodiversity, industry, and transportation).
The UN supported the GOE to provide close to 48,000 people and various financial institutions with both financial and non-financial services that incorporates the poverty-environment, and gender nexus, in the agricultural and green business sectors.
In the agricultural sector, this was achieved by partnering with a digital financial platform leading to enabling a line of credit with interest rates lower than the market for the promotion of climate smart agriculture, women income generating activities, and solar energy utilization in on-farm irrigation.
In the green business sector, UN supported services included increasing the awareness and knowledge/skills on green business opportunities, bio-fertilization, energy efficiency, solar-irrigation, green enterprise development, circular bioeconomy practices, development of green corporate policies, and technical education on reducing hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFC) consumption.
Furthermore, the UN supported improving financial governance knowledge in six governorates – Damietta, Qena, Alexandria, Beni Suef, Asyut, and Behira – for better formulation of local economic development strategies.
Considerable progress was achieved in improving data collection and analysis mechanisms to monitor progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Egypt’s capacities for evidence-based policy formulation for SDG localization improved in 2023 with the establishment of a data platform that captures SDG-relevant data on the national and local levels.
Several reports, including the SDGs Insights Report and three Voluntary Local Reviews, were also published to support context-specific policies and funding aligned with citizen priorities. Furthermore, the UN has enhanced the capacities of the SDG and Child data units at the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) to be able to meet SDG reporting needs and provide updates on child indicators to support in Child Rights Committee (CRC) reporting.
To further enhance data collection for those in vulnerable situations, the UN also supported the initiation of the Household International Migration Survey (HIMS II) and the establishment of an integrated survey system to gather data on the nutritional behavior of households in Egyptian villages. These efforts will generate precise reports and data analyses to facilitate evidence-based decision-making.
As for SDGs budgeting and financing, the UN also worked on strengthening the implementation of the SDGs in Egypt by aligning the national budgeting system with the SDGs and operationalizing a national SDG financing strategy.
A comprehensive costing study was conducted to analyze the SDG investment gap and provide cost estimates for achieving SDG targets along with capacity building initiatives for government costing and mapping.
The report highlighted that 2024 will mark the second year of implementation of the current cooperation framework cycle (2023-2027). The UNCT Egypt will continue to upscale its efforts in supporting Egypt to achieve national priorities, address emerging challenges, and accelerate progress towards the SDGs and leaving no one behind.
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