Egypt’s Minister of Environment Yasmine Fouad participated, on Monday, in a session on major green transitions and how systems are changing for the benefit of people and the planet.
The event is one of four major events taking place during the virtual Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group (WBG) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The current year meetings address plans and actions of countries to achieve a green and resilient recovery that will help countries prepare and invest in low-carbon, resilient development in energy, transportation, cities, and food systems.
These systems are also key factors for an effective and inclusive recovery from the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
During her speech before the meeting, Fouad explained the steps and measures that Egypt has taken to confront climate change.
She highlighted that the country has taken serious steps to reduce air pollution due to its negative effects on the economy and the high economic cost resulting from repairing its damage.
Lately, Egypt has moved towards clean and sustainable transport, such as electric metro lines and buses, and other clean means of transportation.
Fouad added that the country had worked hard to restructure the National Council for Climate Change, in addition to implementing the interactive map project to confront the impacts of climate change on Egypt.
The map aims to help decision-makers identify areas exposed to potential risks from climate change, which may affect the implementation of the country’s development plan. This would also allow for the necessary measures to be taken in various development sectors.
Furthermore, Fouad added that her ministry has cooperated with various bodies in order to implement clean projects to reduce the negative effects of climate change.
She pointed to the adaptation alliance that Egypt started with the UK two years ago, which aims to set more goals for adaptation and resilience similar to mitigation. This focus particularly on highly fragile societies that will be affected more than others by the negative impacts of climate change.
