4th UfM Energy and Climate Business Forum Cairo Sustainable Energy Week

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4th UfM Energy and Climate Business Forum Cairo Sustainable Energy Week

03.10.2024 Press and information team of the Delegation to EGYPT

4th UfM Energy and Climate Business Forum

Cairo Sustainable Energy Week

2October 2024

Opening Remarks by

Ambassador Christian Berger,

Head of the EU Delegation to Egypt

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would like to thank the Union for the Mediterranean and the Regional Center of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency for inviting us to discuss our joint approach to renewable energy.

Europe has spearheaded a deep and radical transformation of its energy system. We are on the road to a fully decarbonised future. And we are leading the charge on the global energy transition. As we look to the future, we know that we have difficult questions to face to get to where we need to be by 2050.

These past few years have been truly shaping the EU energy policy. The full decarbonisation of our power system is in sight. The numbers speak for themselves. We have made notable progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, cutting them by 32.5% since 1990. Over the same period, the EU economy grew by 67%. Renewable energy generation in the EU is at an all-time high. In 2024, wind and solar produced more electricity than all fossil fuel sources combined. Half of our electricity now comes from carbon-free sources.

We are also driving change on the global stage. At last year's COP, we championed the global pledge for a global movement that would help us stay within 1.5 degrees Celsius and push the clean energy transition forward. So we proposed global targets to triple renewables, and double energy savings by 2030. The world rallied behind this goal, thanks to a coalition of 135 countries and thanks to the leadership of a core group of motivated partners. These goals send a clear message to industries and investors.

They point to the direction of travel, and this will help to mobilise much-needed private capital all across the world. They also set a benchmark to track progress based on quantifiable targets, because only what gets measured gets done. The next task is to ensure these targets are translated into concrete actions - where it matters: on the ground, in people lives.

We need to re-double our efforts to build a tracking framework, to keep up the political momentum and further mobilise industry and finance. We see four areas of action.

The first is planning. Governments should now integrate our global ambition in their national climate policies, showing how they intend to contribute to the global targets in the current decade. We are ready to support third countries. In Egypt the EU provided the needed financial and technical support to update the sustainable energy strategy. It has just been approved by the Supreme Energy Council and encompasses almost 60% of renewable in the Egyptian energy mix by 2040. This is what we are also doing in Europe. We raised our renewable energy target for 2030 to more than 42% of our mix. And we are getting there. In the first half of this year, 50% of all our electricity generation came from renewables. But we also know that the work is far from done.

This leads me to the second point: Improving the business environment. We must create the right incentives and conditions for clean energy tech to thrive. We all know what is needed, in Europe and globally: a solid regulatory framework, so that investments are safe and secure; state of the art infrastructure, and faster permitting procedures; markets that create demand for sustainable products, services and technologies. And finally, the right skills to match the demand. We must work on all these priorities at once. These are among the main goals of the new Commission 2024-2029, and we are ready to work on this front with our international partners.

The third point is on access and supply of critical raw materials. Working towards our targets will increase the demand for these minerals and we must make sure that sourcing and mining are done in a way that benefits all. The EU will continue working for robust supply chains, which are transparent and fair throughout.

The final point is on investments. The clean energy transition requires massive investments, everywhere in the world. This is crucial for countries and regions where there is a lack of affordable capital and where costs are extremely high, hindering their path to electrification. Public finance will play a critical role in pushing the clean energy transition forward. Europe will keep doing its fair share.

The European Fund for Sustainable Development Plus (EFSD+) is available to de-risk investments including in Egypt and in the region. The fund offers a variety of risk-sharing instruments of up to €40 billion and aims to mobilise up to €135 billion of public and private financing to help partner countries achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

When we develop de-risking instruments, we strengthen the business case for clean investments. And when we give public support to breakthrough innovation, we facilitate their uptake in the market. I am sure that representatives of the private sector are also ready to embark on this journey. COP29 in Baku will be the place and time to showcase new projects that support our targets.

In conclusion, the EU's message is clear: we are committed to leading the global change towards a sustainable, fair, and competitive energy future. The global pledge for energy efficiency and renewable deployment is not just a target-it's a call to action.

We are making progress, but there is still much more to do. The next few years will determine how successful we are in reaching our goals. We shall continue to work with all partners, stakeholders, and countries in building a cleaner, greener, and better world for all. Energy transition, understood as a long-term project, has to be achieved through consistent steps, and remains the strategic answer to the geopolitical uncertainties we are facing.

Thank you!