Egypt’s Minister of Environment Yasmine Fouad met with Patricia Espinosa — the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change — to discuss Egypt’s preparations for hosting the COP 27 in Sharm El-Sheikh this November, the ministry said in a statement on Monday.
During the meeting, Fouad confirmed that Egypt is in a race against time to move forward with the road map for the 27th Conference of Parties on Climate Change (COP 27) and its executive action plan according to a clear timetable, as a series of continuous and periodic meetings are being held with all concerned parties.
Fouad pointed out that Egypt sees its presidency of the upcoming COP 27 with a different perspective, not only at the level of the expected outputs, but also the impetus that it will achieve for climate action in Egypt, which began years ago and showed some of its fruits in integrating climate change adaptation measures in the development plans of all ministries.
She explained that the state’s environment plans provided added value to the private sector to invest in climate projects and take into account the climate dimension by issuing the first package of green economic tools in the fields of renewable energy, manufacturing electric cars, and alternatives to single-use plastic bags.
The second package will be launched in the field of waste management in addition to including the banking sector in the National Climate Finance.
Fouad stated that Egypt’s hosting of the COP 27 is a great opportunity to change citizens’ perceptions of the challenge of climate change and their inclusion in facing its effects, so a national climate dialogue will be launched at the end of this month with the aim of involving the Egyptian citizen in climate action.
The minister also reviewed the main axes of the 2050 National Climate Change Strategy, stressing the importance of strengthening climate governance as an important element, especially in managing the relationship with partners and sectors intersecting with climate action.
For her part, Espinosa praised the momentum and unremitting efforts in Egypt to host the COP 27 and its keenness to ensure that the conference serves as a turning point in the national track for climate action and for the full implementation of the Paris Agreement.
She further noted that Egypt’s efforts in creating a supportive climate for integrating the dimension of climate change into development and creating national momentum will achieve the required credibility to encourage citizens to participate in climate action and create new partnerships at the regional and global levels.
