Egypt’s Minister of Environment, Yasmine Fouad, participated in the session “Harnessing the Potential of Innovation and Reducing Environmental Impact – The Way Forward to the COP27”, which was held on the sidelines of the Accelerating Action for the Future Sustainable Clothing and Footwear Industry.
The event was organized by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, in cooperation with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), to support its efforts to adopt sustainable business models.
The conference discussed challenges, opportunities and ways to address the impact of climate on industry, in preparation for the COP27.
During her speech, Fouad explained that the COP27 is an implementation conference, which means that all the decisions, pledges and outputs of the COP26 Glasgow conference will be implemented, pointing to the 1.5°C target, and the need for the private sector’s commitment to maintain this goal, with the need to commit to providing the necessary funding to implement these goals.
The minister added that the real challenge is how to facilitate access to financing, not just providing financing, with how to enable existing partners and participants to understand the concept of sustainability and how to allow them to benefit and access this financing.
She further reviewed Egypt’s efforts to address climate change, explaining that in order to bring about real change, enabling policies must be provided, and these policies have been focused on by the state during the past three years. The first of these measures is the integration of the private sector, research and university bodies with the government and the youth to be part of the success story of climate change.
Last week, the National Strategy for Climate Change 2050 was launched. “This strategy is not about adaptation and mitigation only, but rather an integrated strategy that includes enabling tools and includes means of implementation, and defines roles,” Fouad said.
