RIYADH: Egypt aims to advance its target of generating 42 percent of its energy through renewable sources to 2030 from 2035 as the North African nation submitted updated climate commitments as per the Paris Agreement on Monday.  

In its updated Nationally Determined Contribution document, Egypt noted that the country needs to obtain grants and soft financing worth €500 million ($548 million) as a contribution to achieving the revised targets. 

NDC is a climate plan that a Paris Climate Agreement signatory needs to submit every five years to list various measures it plans to take to cut emissions and adapt to climate impacts.

Egypt submitted its first NDC last year in June, with the updated one released earlier this week as the country intends to expedite its efforts to reduce carbon emission volume and increase renewable energy generation ahead of its original target of 2035.

The second update was announced by the Supreme Committee of the National Council for Climate Change in Egypt, led by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly.    

The move of modifying the emissions target demonstrates the nation’s commitment to accelerating the switch to a low-carbon development path, said a top minister.    

Egypt’s Minister of Environment Yasmine Fouad said that this step followed successful discussions between the ministries of foreign affairs, environment and international cooperation.    

It aimed “to obtain grants and soft financing worth €500 million as a contribution to the energy axis of the Nexus for Water, Food and Energy, or NWFE, program, in the framework for updating the NDC through a plan to develop the network, in order to absorb 10 gigawatts of new and renewable energy,” added Fouad. 

A part of the country’s national climate change strategy 2050, the NWFE program was officially launched during COP27 in November last year at a total cost of $14.7 billion, comprising nine projects with three main pillars — water, food and energy. 

The minister went on to say that the private sector is anticipated to raise $10 billion to carry out this strategy.  

Egypt’s Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat revealed that the NDC update secures grants, debt swaps, and concessional financing.   

It also stimulates private investments to support the energy pillar within the government-led platform of NWFE, she added.   

Al-Mashat added that this milestone comes in accordance with the declaration that was announced during COP27, among Egypt, Germany and the US.   

The NWFE aims to develop solid relationships with various stakeholders to raise money for climate change projects.   

This will be done by using cutting-edge financing techniques like debt for climate swaps and blended finance, with a particular focus on the private sector and a broader range of financial actors.  

Additionally, the program offers technical support and guarantees for personal investments.