SHARM EL-SHEIKH – Egyptian Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouli asserted that climate change has become a pressing issue by all standards and all the world countries should stand up against it firmly and swiftly in order to cope with the resulting rapid changes in the coming phase.
The premier’s remarks were made at a debate session under the title of “From Glasgow to Sharm el-Sheikh in face of the Climate Change”, held as part of the 4th edition of the World Youth Forum, currently in session in Sharm el-Sheikh.
He pointed out that the world has neglected all the experts’ warnings over a period of 15 years and dealt with all predictions without any real action.
The session was attended by Director of Climate and Environment Department at the Foreign Ministry Ambassador Mohamed Nasr, UN Development Programme (UNDP)’s strategic adviser Cassie Flynn and a galaxy of world experts in the climate change.
Addressing a session under the title of “From Glasgow to Sharm el-Sheikh in face of the Climate Change”, Madbouli warned against the impact of CO2 emissions which have been on the rise since 1960, noting that economic losses of the climate change are estimated at dlrs 3.6 trillion over a period from 1970 till now.
He tackled the outcome of Glasgow summit (COP26) and the agreement of summiteers on activating Paris Agreement on Climate Change along with the outlining of an executive framework on the new financial commitments by various developed world countries to counter the impact of climate change.
Madbouli called on the developed countries to consolidate efforts with the developing ones to help them mitigate the negative impact of the climate change and engage in negotiation tracks to reach out to tangible results in this regard.
The premier pointed out that Egypt will be among the countries most influenced by the negative impact of climate change despite the fact of its limited responsibility regarding such phenomenon, noting that Egypt’s quota of the harmful emissions amounted to 0.6 percent and it is a very slight ratio.
However, Egypt has done tremendous efforts to change to new and renewable energy sources, citing the report of Fitch Ratings Inc. about the huge electric capabilities of Egypt produced from the solar and wind energy in the Middle East and North Africa region, Madbouli explained.
Meanwhile, Egypt has outlined a plan to double its new and renewable energy sources by 300 percent in the coming phase, he added.
He made it clear that by the end of 2022, Egypt seeks to secure 20 percent of its energy production from renewable resources, while its target is to reach up to 42 percent by the end of 2035.
Cairo will be one of the biggest five producers of energy from renewable sources in the Middle East and Africa region, he said, asserting that such investments have been growing over the past phase.
He also spoke of the fruitful outcome of Benban solar plant in Aswan which was categorized as one of the world’s best solar projects, adding that the state has been working hard to replace fuel vehicle with the gas ones in order to reduce gas emissions as much as possible and has launched many initiatives to encourage the replacement of any old vehicles with new eco-friendly ones.
He also underlined the state’s efforts in renovating the mass transportation system, the gas distribution to all governorates along with the introduction of waste management systems to reduce pollution and create more clean environment nationwide.
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