Cairo – Egypt’s Foreign minister Sameh Shoukry called for pulling the United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP27, out of the ongoing context of “strong political and economic polarization and the dynamics of politicization and contestation.” He articulated the importance of the event in an interview with state news agency WAM in Cairo.
“COP27 will be held amidst a global context of strong geopolitical and geo-economic tension and polarization that we hope will not make it more difficult to tackle common global challenges, notably climate change,” the minister said. Shoukry added it is necessary to spare this event of the ongoing international conflicts and disputes, because any failure to address the climate change challenges, he says, or any backtracking on climate pledges will get the world to a “point of no return” beyond which extremely dangerous climate change impacts can become unavoidable.
The minister said this has been a message that has been sent out to all parties concerned through the informal ministerial meetings and during the preparatory meeting for COP27, which was held in the Democratic Republic of the Congo earlier this month. Shoukry said all these parties should honor their shared responsibilities and focus on this existential issue facing humanity at large, which is climate change. “We must make sure that the ongoing international conflicts and crises and the current global polarization won’t in any way spill over to this field,” he stressed.
The Egyptian minister cited international reports regarding the need to hold the increase in the global average temperature. “If we go beyond 1.5 degree of global warming, negative consequences will become unavoidable, and it will be impossible for the world to go back to where we used to be,” he warned. Shoukry pointed out that the core of this conference is to address the climate change challenges, and that it is not a forum to address any other issues that is not relevant to climate action.
Burning issues
Asked on the approaches adopted by Egypt toward the global efforts made to address climate change, Shoukry said, “COP27 focuses on a set of key climate-related issues, primarily emissions reduction, adaptation to the negative effects of climate change, financing, and the issue of losses and damages.”
He added there is a consensus that tackling these key issues hinges on the ability of the international community to deal with the challenges of climate change and to work on building confidence among all parties – developed and developing countries – to provide the necessary resources so that the concerned countries can assume their responsibility toward a fair, sustainable transition from dependence on fossil fuels to the new and renewable energy and embark on a path of negotiation and consultation on the issue of losses and damages.
The Egyptian presidency, he continued, is working to provide a favorable ecosystem to encourage all parties concerned to reach a consensus, and to make concessions that ultimately serve the collective interest to meet the aspired goal. “Throughout 2022, we have been working to encourage the world countries to increase their voluntary national commitments in the context of reducing emissions, as well as to emphasize the importance of adaptation,” he said.
“We all have seen the devastating consequences of the recent floods and torrents in Pakistan and the need for the Pakistani government to take measures to protect their people,” he said. The minister added there must be resources for such countries to remedy these effects and to work to contain them.”
Strategic messages
On the strategic messages that Egypt intends to convey through the climate summit, Shoukry said that they are all concerns shared by the international community: According to him, there are Egyptian initiatives that will be launched during the conference on food security, agriculture, green hydrogen, new and renewable energy, in addition to a call for ensuring decent life in Africa.
The Egyptian minister said a large number of presidents and heads of government have confirmed their attendance. “During the first two days of the conference, a high-level debate will be held. We have made a call for the largest possible participation from world leaders in this discussion to express the political will needed to address the issue of climate change,” he said.
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
