Egyptian Minister of Environment and ministerial co-ordinator of the Cop27 climate conference, Yasmine Fouad, attended the 18thAfrican Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) in Dakar, Senegal.
The minister reviewed Egypt’s initiatives for Africa, in addition to co-ordinating the African position at COP27, slated for November in Sharm el-Sheikh.
Egypt is exerting unremitting efforts to ensure the success of the upcoming climate change conference at all levels, the minister said, adding that the government is working to transform Sharm el-Sheikh into a green city ahead of the event.
The Sharm el-Sheikh green city scheme entails the application of electric transport, advanced waste management systems, a hotel ‘green star’ rating, and the expansion of solar energy units to advance an African model of transition to a green economy.
Fouad said that Egypt aims to restore the balance between adaptation and mitigation in addition to support the global goal to double funding for African countries to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change.
The minister called for a “distinguished African participation” in the preparatory meeting of the climate conference in October as a starting point for discussions.
African countries are the most affected by food insecurity and water scarcity, Fouad said.
The minister said that climate change is expected to push more than 78 million people towards chronic hunger by 2050.
The Waste 50 initiative will address the waste management crisis in Africa by 2050 as less than 10 per cent of the solid waste generated in the continent is recycled, Fouad said.
Egypt plans to introduce a series of initiatives during COP27, which will focus on the priorities of developing countries, especially in Africa, Fouad added.
“For the first time, COP27 initiatives are built on an inclusive process of global consultations, with six out of the thirteen initiatives focused mainly on Africa and two additional initiatives with focus on targets for Africa,” she added.
Fouad reiterated to the world that Africa bears the brunt of the climate change crisis despite accounting for a tiny fraction of global greenhouse emissions.
“The Egyptian government has been exerting enormous efforts to address climate change challenges and include climate-related dimensions in its national plans across all sectors,” the minister said.
She highlighted that the biodiversity initiative that will form nature-based solutions (NbS), saying many issues facing the entire continent will be addressed at COP27 such as marine life, marine pollution, ecosystem restoration and conservation, in addition to combating desertification.
“We call COP27 a COP for implementation. We as COP27 president seek to maintain global ambition for climate action,” the minister said.
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