President Abdel Fattah El Sisi has expressed Egypt’s aspiration to host the 2022 World Climate Change Summit in 2022 on behalf of the African continent, stressing that Egypt will seek to turn the summit into a fundamental turning point in the international action on climate change in partnership with all parties, for the benefit of the African continent and the world at large.
The president’s remarks came as he participated yesterday via video conference in the Heads of State and Government meeting, on the sidelines of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly, chaired by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Heads of state and government of countries around the world and Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres participated in the videoconferenced meeting, Presidency Spokesman Ambassador Bassam Radi said.
In his remarks, the President stressed the importance of the developed countries assuming their responsibilities in reducing emissions in implementation of their international obligations as part of the Paris Agreement and the Framework Convention on Climate Change.
In this context, President Sisi made reference to the recent large-scale forest fires that various areas of the world have witnessed, which confirmed that climate change has become such an upsetting reality that demands immediate action.
The president also stressed the need to deal seriously with any unilateral measures that contribute to the exacerbation of the consequences of climate change, foremost of which is the construction of dams on international rivers without agreement with the downstream countries on the rules for their filling and operation.
This comes as part of efforts to deal with issues of adaptation to climate change, which represent a very important aspect of the international climate action and a top priority for developing countries, especially in the African continent which is suffering from the most severe consequences of this phenomenon particularly in the form of water scarcity, drought and desertification.
