‘Egypt looking forward to hosting next COP summit’
Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El Sisi asserted on Monday that Egypt has taken serious steps to carry out a sustainable development model, with climate change and adaptation at the heart of it, adding that the government seeks to push its green projects to 50 percent by 2025 and 100 percent by 2030.
The president’s remarks came in his speech at the 26th session of the UN Climate Change Summit, held in Glasgow, Scotland.
In his speech, President Sisi said that renewable energy sources today represent about 20 percent of the energy mix in Egypt.
“We are working to reach 42 percent by 2035 in conjunction with the rationalization of energy subsidies,” the president added.
Egypt, President Sisi said, is also carrying out projects to rationalize water uses, lining canals, and integrated coastal zone management. To finance these projects, the President, added that Egypt recently issued the first offering of green bonds worth $750 million.
The president noted that Egypt has moreover completed the preparation of the National Climate Change Strategy 2050, the overall instrument that will open the way for Egypt to modernize its nationally determined contributions, so that the policies, objectives and procedures included in these contributions become integrated with the state’s development drive and its efforts to recover from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
He then emphasised that the implementation of developing countries’ commitments in the face of climate change depends on the amount of support they receive, especially in terms of financial allocations, adding that such support is the cornerstone and the main determinant of the ability of countries to raise their climate ambition.
This comes as part of the delicate balance represented by the Paris Agreement, which must be preserved to ensure that efforts to reduce emissions and adapt to the negative effects of climate change are equally promoted, President Sisi said.
“We feel concerned over the gap between the available funding and the size of the actual needs of developing countries and the obstacles that our countries face in accessing this financing,” the Egyptian leader said in his speech.
President Sisi then highlighted the necessity of developed countries fulfilling their pledge to provide $100 billion annually in favor of climate finance in developing countries.
“We affirm our support for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ call for ensuring that the amount of funding channeled to adaptation be not less than half of the available allocations,” President Sisi said. In this respect, President Sisi stressed the importance of starting consultations on the new funding goal beyond 2025.”
The President added that despite not being responsible for the climate crisis, the African continent faces the most negative consequences of the phenomenon and its economic, social, security and political effects.
“Nonetheless, the continent is a model for serious climate action as far as its capabilities and support allow.”
Egypt, the President said, is therefore stressing the necessity calls of granting the African continent special treatment within the framework of the implementation of the Paris Agreement, given the continent’s circumstances and the magnitude of the challenges it faces.
The President expressed Egypt’s support of the current UK presidency of the Conference of the Parties and said Egypt is looking forward to host, in the name of the continent of Africa, the forthcoming COP session.
“We will seek during our COP presidency to consolidate international climate action in order to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement, thereby realising the interests of the peoples of our continent and those of the peoples of all countries of the world,” the President said.
Meanwhile, President Sisi held a meeting yesterday with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, on the sidelines of the Global Climate Summit in Glasgow.
Mr. Johnson welcomed the President’s visit to Glasgow, praising the current close ties between Egypt and Britain and the growing momentum that in the relations between the two countries recently witnessed, Presidency spokesman Bassam Radi said in a statement following the meeting.
The UK Prime Minister stressed that Egypt is one of Britain’s most important partners in the Middle East, expressing aspiration to deepen relations with Egypt in various fields.
Mr. Johnson also expressed appreciation and congratulations to the President for the ambitious developmental efforts and achievements undertaken by Egypt, emphasising his country’s support for those efforts under the leadership of the President, spokesman Radi said.
For his part, President Sisi expressed appreciation for the recent development of bilateral relations between Egypt and Britain in all fields, stressing Egypt’s aspiration to maximize bilateral cooperation during the coming period, enhance political coordination and exchange visions on various files of common interest.
The two leaders agreed to introduce new scopes for additional cooperation between the two countries, enhance Britain’s involvement in the priorities of Egyptian development plans and support bilateral cooperation in various fields.
