ADDIS ABABA – The 27th edition of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) will take place in Sharm el-Sheikh in less than 30 days, amid hopes to turn the climate pledges made by developed countries in previous COPs into tangible realities.
The Sharm el-Sheikh summit is known as ‘Africa’s COP’. The Egyptian presidency of the summit works closely with the African Union to highlight the priorities and demands of the continent, which is most vulnerable to impacts from climate change, even as it contributes a fraction of global emissions.
These issues were the focus of ‘Africa Climate Talks: Road to COP27’, a conference organised by the Egyptian Embassy in Addis Ababa, which is Egypt’s permanent representative at the African Union, in collaboration with the African Union (AU) Commission last week, as part of preparations for the summit.
Egypt’s Ambassador to Ethiopia and the AU, Mohamed Gad, attended the conference, along with AU Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy and Sustainable Environment, Josefa Sacko, Danish Climate Ambassador, Tomas Christensen, and Ambassador of Hope, G. Tumunkunde, who is also Rwanda’s Ambassador to the AU.
Ambassador Gad said the COP27 presidency wants to build on the momentum achieved in Glasgow summit last year, by adopting a comprehensive approach that deals with climate action at the levels of mitigation, adaptation, finance and loss and damage.
In addition to the Blue Zone, he said, the Green zone would also be an important corner of the conference where several initiatives would be launched whether by the host country or by other key actors.
He noted that the COP27 presidency launched a series of initiatives to focus attention on critical thematic issues.
Green hydrogen has become an important enabler in green transition as a process, given the abundance of this resource and its green emissions credentials.
Ambassador Gad said green hydrogen cannot be overlooked as far as the green transition is concerned.
Despite Africa’s green hydrogen potential and the possibility of investments, there is still a need to translate strategies and agreements into projects to overcome the lack of financing.
He revealed that an initiative to establish a public-private forum on green hydrogen to connect investors and producers to discuss the best practices and successful policies is underway and would be initiated during COP27.
Ambassador Sacko for her part expressed her hope that COP27 will come up with concrete actions , especially in domains related to food security and energy in addition to scaling up required climate finance. Ambassador Josefa also referred to the high-level conference on food security and nutrition due to be held on 8-9 October in Addis Ababa so that the outcomes can also be taken to Sharm El Sheikh in COP27.
As for COP27 initiatives , Ambassador Sacko stressed the importance of enhancing partnerships and investments , referring to an initiative to establish a public-private forum on green hydrogen.
In a related context, Ambassador Gad referred to a COP27 presidency initiative to promote adaptation in the water sector.
Such initiatives deal with critical issues from a broad and holistic perspective, according to Ambassador Ayman Tharwat, a member of the COP27 presidency team.
“These are not just COP27 or Sharm el-Sheikh initiatives,” he told the gathering.
He described water as the ‘primary medium’ through which climate change impacts are filled.
Africa, he said, is home to some regions that are enormously impacted by droughts and floods with continued lack of adaptation capacities, resilience, financial means and foresight.
“Planning adaptation in the water sector is critical to how successful Africa will be in addressing the impact of climate change,” Ambassador Tharwat said.
He described AWARE Initiative as a call to address water as key to climate change adaptation and resilience.
The initiative, he said, also offers transitional adaptation solutions, starting with the world’s most vulnerable communities and vulnerable ecosystems in Africa.
The initiative aims to offer transitional adaptation solutions for the planet, starting with the world’s most vulnerable communities.
“The initiative will also contribute to the successful outcome of the 2023 conference on water,” Ambassador Tharwat said.
He noted that the initiative contains three principals that aim to decrease water loss worldwide, improve water supply, and propose and support the implementation of mutually agreed policies and methods for co-operative water-related adaptation action.
The initiative, he said, will also promote co-operation and inter-linkages between water and climate action to achieve the 2030 Agenda, especially Sustainable Development Goals within the 2030 Agenda.
Ambassador Tharwat referred to another initiative, called Food and Agriculture for Sustainable Transformation (FAST), which is related to food security and agri-food systems that are increasingly adversely impacted by climate change.
These systems, he said, offer a unique opportunity to address climate change by building resilience across them, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
“FAST aims to accelerate the transformation of agri-food systems, drive correct and effective action and avoid duplication,” Ambassador Tharwat said.
He added that the initiative would build on the three pillars: access to finance, knowledge-sharing and capacity building, and policy support.
“It will take stock of all regional and global efforts in that important area,” he said of the initiative.
