Opening remarks, welcoming the participants

This session is aimed at presenting the objectives and expectations of the workshop. It will also introduce the mandate from COP 23 for the UNFCCC secretariat, in collaboration with the operating entities, multilateral and bilateral institutions, to assist developing countries in assessing their needs and priorities and to facilitate the mobilization of resources to address these priorities. It will also explain the Needs-based Climate Finance Project, including its objectives, work plan and progress to date.

Welcoming Remarks

H.E. Yasmine Fouad, Minister of Environment, Egypt

Mr. Ayman Shasly, Chair, Arab Group of Climate Negotiators, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Mr. Mahmoud Fath-Allah, Director, Director of the Environment and Meteorology Affairs Department, League of Arab States

Mr. Yolando Velasco, Manager, Climate Finance Sub-Programme, Finance, Technology and Capacity Building Programme, UNFCCC

Session 1: What are the global and regional impacts of climate change specifically for Arab states?

This session aims to provide a global understanding on the impacts of climate change, based on reports, such as by the IPCC. It will also present the specific impacts and vulnerabilities of the Arab States based on the key findings of the RICCAR Arab Climate Change Assessment Report.

Guiding questions:

• What are most significant climate risks in the Arab region?
• How will climate risks impact the economies in the region?

Presentation

Ms. Roula Majdalani, Director, Sustainable Development Policies Division, UNESCWA  (Presentation)

Open discussions

Session 2: What is the state of play on climate finance in the context of the Convention and the Paris Agreement?

This session will present an overview of the state of climate finance in the context of the Convention and the Paris Agreement. It will also present the evolution of climate finance discussions in the multilateral process and identify challenges and opportunities for Arab States.

Guiding questions:

• What are the main issues discussed in relation to climate finance in the context of the Convention and the Paris Agreement?
• In what context is the Arab region implementing climate actions and the principles that underpin climate finance?
• Who are the key development partners in the region and what other multilateral institutions and forums are involved?

Presentation

Mr. Ayman Shasly, Chair of the Arab Group of Negotiators,
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (Presentation)

Mr. Omar El-Arini, advisor to the Government of Egypt

Open discussions

Moderator: Ms. Laila Iskandar, Former Minister of the Environment, Egyptian Cabinet, Egypt

Session 3: What are the climate finance needs and priorities in countries and across the region?

Arab states have been communicating needs in various national reports to the Convention. The session will present an overview of the climate finance needs as articulated by the member states to address the impacts of climate change while pursuing sustainable development and economic diversification. Countries will be asked to exchange experiences on the process at how needs are identified in the context of macroeconomic planning and how they result in the development of fiscal policies and regulatory frameworks to provide enabling environments to address the needs.

The aim of this session is to understand common and country-specific needs for climate finance and the national and regional level processes for identifying and including them in national development plans.

Guiding questions:

• What types of needs by sector are most common across the region?
• What is the nature of capacity building, technology and finance needs?
• How are needs best identified and articulated?

Presentations

Overview of Arab strategies related to climate change

Mr. Hammou Laamrani, Department of Housing, Environment and Water Resources, League of Arab States (Presentation)

Overview of the climate finance needs and priorities in the region

Ms. Samah van Lengerich, Associate Programme Officer, Climate Finance Sub-programme, Finance, Technology and Capacity-Building, UNFCCC (Presentation)

Open discussions

Session 4: What are the current sources and channels for climate finance in the region?

This session will present an overview of the state of climate finance at the regional level based on information from international public and private sources. Countries will be asked to exchange information on the current landscape of finance actors active in financing climate solutions in their country, the preferred financial instruments and risk/return profiles for investment and trends they foresee in relation to climate finance in the region by sector or asset class.

The aim of this session is to understand the current baseline of finance flows, sources and instruments in the region and identify opportunities for scaling up finance.

Guiding questions:

• What types of finance flows derive from international public climate finance?
• How do multilateral and bilateral institutions channel climate finance?
• What is the current status of private investment in climate action in the region?

Presentation

Overview of Climate Finance Flows in the region

Mr. Padraig Oliver, Programme Officer, Climate Finance Sub-programme, Finance, Technology and Capacity-Building, UNFCCC (Presentation)

Mr. Gareth Phillips, Manager, Climate Change and Green Growth Department, African Development Bank (Presentation)

Open discussions

Session 5: Financial instruments

This session will present different financial instruments deployed at the national and regional level to mobilize climate finance, and the types of activities they are supporting. It will also investigate the role of the private sector in the mobilization of  resources to support climate actions in the region, including public-private partnerships.

The aim of this session is to focus on how different financial instruments can mobilize private finance and the types of enabling actions that are needed to facilitate them.

Guiding questions:

• What types of financial instruments are available in the region and do they address the needs of Arab States?
• What is the most effective role of concessional finance instruments such as grants and soft loans in mobilizing climate finance?
• How effective can guarantees and insurance in attracting investment?

Presentations

Country case study: Experience in deploying different financial instruments.

Mr. Abdeslam Jorio, Head of Division of the Infrastructures sectors, Ministry of Finance, Morocco

Green Bond support provided by IFC to Issuers and Regulators

Mr. Riccardo Ambrosini, Climate Finance Specialist for the Middle East and Africa, IFC - World Bank Group (Presentation)

EBRD’s experience in the provision of financial instruments

Mr. Jan-Willem van de Ven, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (Presentation)

Open discussions

Moderator: Mr. Arnault Graves, Senior Climate Adviser, Secretariat of the Union for the Mediterranean

Stock-take and discussion of next day objectives

This session will provide a brief stock-take of the day’s discussions and open the floor for priority areas to be discussed the following day.

Presentation

Ms. Fiona Stewart, Lead Financial Sector Specialist, Finance, Competitiveness & Innovation, World Bank (Presentation)

Session 6: How can the Ministries of Finance and regulators be engaged in climate finance?

There are various approaches for Ministries of Finance and financial regulators to promote climate solutions. This session will discuss potential areas of engagement for Ministries of Finance from domestic policy making, planning, incentives and direct investment utilizing different financial instruments such as greening bonds. Financial Regulators and the role of central banks may also engage in supporting the integration of climate risk in macroprudential management and financial stability. Countries will be asked to exchange experiences or best practices that have revealed the challenges and opportunities in mobilizing climate finance.

The aim of this session is to dive deeper into country experiences with regard to efforts to access and mobilize climate finance internationally and domestically.

Guiding questions:

• How can ministries of finance and central banks support mobilization and access of climate finance from international sources?
• What is the value in developing climate finance principles and taxonomies?

Country case studies

Ms. Najwa Mouhaouri, Central Bank of Morocco, Morocco (Presentation)

Provision of instruments from a private sector perspective

Mr. Ali Adnan Ibrahim, Chairman, Al Baraka Banking Group, First Vice President – Head of Social Responsibility, Chairman of the Bahrain Association of Banks, Sustainable Development Committee (Presentation)

Open discussions

Moderator: Ms. Noura Mansouri, Senior Research Associate, Energy Transitions and Electric Power, King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center

Session 7: What are the most important target areas, financial instruments and approaches to mobilize and access climate finance?

This session will investigate the high priority target areas (e.g. sectors, technologies) and the financial instruments and approaches for emphasis in the strategy. The role of the private sector in the mobilization of resources to support climate actions in the region, including public-private partnerships, will be discussed as well as other instruments.

Framing presentation for discussion:

Mr. Yolando Velasco, Manager, Climate Finance Sub-Programme, Finance, Technology and Capacity Building Programme, UNFCCC (Presentation)

Round the table

Moderator: Mr. Ayman Shasly, Chair, Arab Group of Climate Negotiators, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Summary of next steps and closing remarks

Closing remarks

Mr. Ayman Shasly, Chair, Arab Group of Climate Negotiators,
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Mr. Mahmoud Fath-Allah, Director, Director of the Environment and Meteorology Affairs Department, League of Arab States