Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry stressed Egypt’s quest for the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on climate change (COP27) to be an important milestone in the implementation of climate pledges and commitments.
In an interview with the UAE news agency (WAM), Shoukry called for the summit hosted by Egypt in Sharm El-Sheikh (from 6 to 18 November) to spare international conflicts and disputes and not to transfer them to the event.
Shoukry warned that any failure to deal with climate challenges would lead the world to a stage of no return. He called for cooperation between countries to produce results commensurate with the importance of the event.
In this regard, Shoukry praised the Egyptian-Emirati cooperation and coordination during the climate summit hosted by Egypt.
He pointed to the efforts of the two countries to develop their capabilities in the field of new and renewable energy and increase investments in each.
He said that the aim of COP27 is to address the challenges of climate change and that it is not a forum to address any other issues not related to climate challenges, and therefore the common interest is to continue pushing forward towards concerted international efforts by all to address an issue affecting everyone.
Shoukry pointed out that there are Egyptian initiatives that will be launched during the COP27 conference, such as food security, agriculture, green hydrogen, new and renewable energy, and a decent life in Africa.
He expressed hope that the initiatives will receive the support, and interaction not only of governments, but also business circles and civil society institutions as a framework for reaching concerted efforts of all parties, governmental and non-governmental, to face climate change issues.
The Foreign Minister stressed that there is coordination between Egypt and the UAE through the Egyptian team in “COP27” and the UAE team that is working on preparing for “COP28”.
He pointed out that this coordination also aims to have the usual circulation, as any success or any progress made within the framework of each COP event should be transferred to the next conference to build on it to move forward in achieving achievements towards climate challenges.
