Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry stressed that Africa is a continent of promising opportunities with a large number of young people, an abundance of Natural Resources and enormous economic potential.
Shoukry added Monday, during his speech at the opening session of the Africa Climate Week ACW 2022 held in Gabon, that despite Africa’s contribution of only 4% to emissions, it is facing the effects of climate change that hinder its efforts in development and test the resilience of its societies.
He noted that these effects included all African regions, and in an accelerated way, especially in the Horn of Africa region, in addition to the Mediterranean coasts, making the continent the most affected by climate change.
“The African continent is one of the most affected by climate change according to the latest reports” Shoukry noted
He stressed that Africa is committed to its low economic resources of supporting 2-3% of its GDP each year to counter these impacts, a responsibility that we can only describe as a lack of climate justice.
During the Africa Climate Week in Gabon, Shoukry added that all African governments should continue to advocate for Climate Justice, pointing out that the world is facing accelerating challenges related to geopolitical changes, energy crises, food security, increasing the cost of financing, as well as the debt challenge due to climate change.
He noted that developing countries in Africa have to deal with all these repercussions while facing their own internal difficulties and development challenges.
He stressed that the ACW 2022 in Gabon is a very important platform to deal with African challenges and needs in the face of climate change.
Shoukry said that Egypt is aware of the challenges facing the African continent, related to climate change, in conjunction with its upcoming presidency of COP27.
“We need bold and collective actions based on the principle of fairness. Egypt’s COP27 presidency commits to ensuring that no one is left behind,” he added
He pointed out that the international community is lagging behind in measures to finance and adapt to climate change, noting that many pledges on adaptation and mitigation have been launched in Glasgow, and the world must fulfil its promise in Glasgow.
The president of Gabon, Ali Bongo Ondimba, said: “in less than three months, the UN climate change conference(COP27) will be held in Sharm el-Sheikh.
He added that COP27is described as the conference of the parties in Africa and will significantly shape the future of the African continent.
Bongo noted that the ACW 2022, as one of the last major climate events before COP27, can bring African countries together to walk the path to COP27 with unity of purpose and determination for a better future.
He urged African countries to seize this opportunity to work on innovative, concrete and sustainable solutions and give African countries the means to successfully combat climate change.
Mahmoud Mohieddine, COP27 climate champion, said: “ACW 2022 is an important moment for climate action in Africa to highlight the continent’s contributions to the global movement to tackle climate change and highlight its own needs. He added that a just transition towards a green economy is a priority for Africa by balancing its need to combat climate change with the urgent need to develop the continent’s economies.
Mohieddine noted that the adaptation Agenda needs a boost at COP27 to strengthen its global visibility, in particular in Africa.
“We must be reminded that every dollar spent on adaptation generates from two to ten dollars of economic benefits,” he said.
