Egypt, UK affirm joint commitment to accelerate fight against climate change ahead of COP27

CAIRO – 15 January 2022: Egypt and the United Kingdom have affirmed their joint commitment to accelerate the fight against climate change as COP26 President Alok Sharma met on Saturday with Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, the president-designate of COP27.

The meeting has agreed on the need for strengthening cooperation between the UK and Egypt to confront the impacts of climate change and build on the current global climate action, a joint statement read.

“We will work together in 2022 and beyond to drive ambitious implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement, and to deliver on the outcomes of the Glasgow Climate Pact to keep 1.5 degrees in reach and support developing countries in adapting to the impacts of climate change,” the statement said.

The UK vowed also to provide full support to Egypt to ensure ambitious results at COP27 set to be held in Egypt’s Red Sea resort city of Sharm El-Sheikh.

“We emphasize the urgency of action required to address the gaps in ambition across mitigation, adaptation, loss and damage, and finance, and the importance of responding to the best available science in this respect,” the statement said.

“We recognize that significant progress was made at COP26, but there is much more to be done - particularly to implement commitments made. We aim to pursue a lasting legacy that ensures the UNFCCC process continues to drive ambitious action to address climate change and its impacts,” the statement added.

Egypt’s Minister of Environment Yassmine Fouad announced earlier this month that the ministry has a four-axis plan for hosting the COP27.

The Minister said that the first axis includes raising the efficiency of hotels, diving centers, and hotel rooms in Sharm El Sheikh, in cooperation with the Ministry of Tourism.

The second axis is providing eco-friendly transportation, while the third axis is concerned with raising the electrical capacity of the conference hall, while the fourth is concerned with raising the efficiency of the city's waste system in terms of collection, transportation, treatment and recycling.

The Minister announced this plan during a meeting with Minister of Local Development Mahmoud Shaarawy, at the headquarters of the Ministry of Local Development.

They discussed also certain projects for converting waste into energy, besides draft contract form between the investors and the governorates through the Waste Management Regulatory Agency.