At Sharm el-Sheikh, world leaders will come together to find solutions to the existential threat of climate change. It is hoped that by the end of this meeting a binding international agreement will be reached to lead to the alleviation of the disastrous impact of climate change. It is all the more urgent since the experts warn that the year 2050 could be catastrophic for the whole world if action is not taken soon to avert the impact of climate change.
The decision by the international community to choose Egypt to host COP27 was not out of nowhere. Rather, the decision was prompted by Egypt’s role in dealing effectively and positively with climate change issues. In this respect, Egypt has adopted a clear vision at local and international levels, along with steps towards sustainable development through environment-conservation efforts, commitment to transition to a green economy and launch of the National Strategy for Climate Change 2050. Egypt is also working on a series of climate adaption and mitigation projects to reduce carbon emissions and increase the flexibility and resilience of its economy. Furthermore, Egypt is seeking to increase the use of clean and renewable energy by launching green bonds worth $750 million to finance green projects, especially clean transport and green hydrogen production.
Egypt has established a National Council for Climate Change to draw up plans and formulate policies for adaptation to climate change. Although many countries have made pledges to lower carbon emissions, few are committed to laying down executive plans to this end.
The Sharm el-Sheikh conference comes at a critical time to turn pledges into actions. COP27 invites engagement in international efforts to face climate change more seriously and assist developing countries in implementing a green economy. Financing is one of the obstacles facing developing countries and so new financing policies and solutions relevant to the climate change issue are hoped to be reached during the conference in order save the world from environmental catastrophes.
Global prospects will be dim if the temperature of the planet exceeds 1.5 Celsius. The last eight years have been the hottest and international decision makers are working on precautions to limit climate disasters in the present and the future. COP27 is an important event that the world hopes can mobilise to address the climate emergency.
Mohamed Fahmy is the editor-in-chief of The Egyptian Gazette and the Egyptian Mail newspapers
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