On the one year anniversary of the launch of Race to Zero, the British Egyptian Business Association (BEBA) and the Egyptian British Chamber of Commerce (EBCC) announced that they are joining the campaign. Race to Zero is a global campaign, which commits businesses, cities, regions, and investors to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
The campaign supports the UN Climate Ambition Alliance, launched in 2019. Whereas the latter commits nations to be more ambitious in their Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement, Race to Zero brings actors outside of national governments together to commit to the same goal: carbon neutrality by 2050.
UK Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan, Minister of State for Energy, Clean Growth and Climate Change and UK’s International Champion on Adaptation and Resilience for COP26 said: “I’m delighted to hear that the British Egyptian Business Association (BEBA) and the Egyptian British Chamber of Commerce (EBCC) have announced their intention to join businesses around the world in the Race to Zero campaign. It has never been more important for business and government to work together to counter the effects of climate change – a point I have been making in my discussions with Egyptian ministers. So I am proud to see BEBA and EBCC setting down such a fantastic marker for the business community in Egypt. Climate change is too important, and adaptation and resilience to its effects are too necessary, to be left to government alone. We all need to pull together. I hope that many more British and Egyptian businesses will be inspired by this example to sign up soon.”
Currently, the Race To Zero campaign represents 708 cities, 24 regions, 2,360 businesses, 163 of the biggest investors, and 624 Higher Education Institutions worldwide, in addition to 120 countries, who collectively cover nearly 25% of global CO2 emissions and over 50% of global GDP.
Khaled Nosseir, Chairman of BEBA, said: “The British Egyptian Business Association (BEBA) is happy to support the Race to Zero Initiative, supporting the goal of net-zero global emissions by 2050. As businesses and as business leaders it is our absolute duty for the generations to come to commit to climate targets and work collaboratively across industries to decarbonise supply chains to create a healthy and resilient future”.
Ian Gray OBE, Chairman of EBCC said: “The Egyptian-British Chamber of Commerce (EBCC) is committed to a sustainable and resilient recovery after Covid-19. We are pleased to sign up to the Race to Zero Initiative and provide support to businesses in the UK and Egypt looking to transition to a green future. Now is the time to take action across industries and build a healthier world for us all.”
Both BEBA and EBCC support Egypt’s ambition for a greener future through a programme of events focused on providing the Egyptian and UK private sector with insight into and access to sustainable projects. They jointly organised a virtual trade mission centred around the green economy at the end of 2020, and hosted a major conference in March 2021 on sustainable manufacturing and agriculture. Both organisations actively support work in green finance, renewable energy, sustainable transport solutions, and net-zero carbon cities.
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