Cairo – Ashraf AboArafe
Dr Yasmine Fouad, Egyptian Minister of Environment, held a meeting with UK COP26 Regional Ambassador Sir Laurie Bristow to discuss joint cooperation to tackle climate change ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), to be hosted in the United Kingdom next year. The meeting was also attended by Ambassador Mohamed Gad, Director of Environment and Sustainable Development at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as the Egyptian Ambassador to London Ambassador Tarek Adel and the British Ambassador to Egypt Sir Geoffrey Adams.
The meeting covered a range of climate issues, including climate adaptation, climate financing, and technology transfer. The two countries agreed to work together to raise global ambition before the virtual summit to be hosted by the United Kingdom on 12 December, which will celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Paris Agreement. They also reviewed progress on the UK-Egypt led coalition on climate adaptation and resilience, which was established by both countries at the United Nations Climate Action Summit last year.
In this context, Dr Yasmine Fouad stressed the importance of taking effective measures to adapt to the effects of climate change, noting that the repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic make it more necessary than ever to raise ambition towards the climate agreement. This includes measures to adapt as well as mitigate the effects of climate change. She called on the organisers of COP26 to give strong impetus to the climate agreement and its governing principles, and to renew dialogue on fulfilling the commitments already made at the 2015 Paris Agreement towards climate financing. She particularly stressed the need to take steps to implement mechanisms to mitigate the effects of climate change and to reach lower carbon emissions. She also noted that the coronavirus pandemic had demonstrated the need for greater concern for the health of the planet, which is directly reflected in the health of humans and all other organisms, referred to as the “One Health Approach”.
The Minister of Environment also referred to the strong link between measures to deal with the effects of climate change and the preservation of biological diversity and the ecosystem. This had been a central theme of Egypt’s Presidency of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP14), during which the Egyptian President had launched an initiative to link the three Rio Conventions (climate change, desertification, and biological diversity). Through this initiative, efforts to advance the climate agreement had been unified with wider work on raising climate ambition, climate financing, the post-2020 framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity, and financing for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals – noting the limitation on international funding to deal with these challenges separately.
During the meeting, Fouad spoke about steps that Egypt is taking to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, particularly in the transport sector. Egypt is shifting to sustainable transport through the use of natural gas and electricity to fuel public transport and individual transportation. This initiative is being overseen by a ministerial committee that includes a number of ministries, in cooperation with the private sector. Fouad added that waste management is no less important when it comes to emissions and greenhouse gases. The Egyptian state is therefore implementing an ambitious programme with the support of the political leadership to implement a new solid waste management system, which includes integrated infrastructure and investment from the private sector. The Council of Ministers has issued the tariff for converting waste into energy, and the House of Representatives recently approved a new law on waste, an important legislative step.
In this context, the British Ambassador to Egypt Sir Geoffrey Adams referred to the growing business opportunities provided by the energy sector in Egypt. Besides the renewable energy sector, British companies are now also looking to invest in Egypt’s solid waste management programme – an excellent example of bilateral cooperation between the UK and Egypt.
The Minister of Environment added that the Egyptian state is taking serious steps to integrate environmental sustainability standards into its development plans and national projects. Two days ago President Sisi inaugurated the largest oil refinery complex in Africa, which depends on natural gas as fuel – an example of the way in which Egypt is integrating environmental considerations into its national projects. In addition, the Ministries of Environment and Planning are working to integrate environmental sustainability standards into the state’s investment and development plans. Egypt recently completed its first issuance of government green bonds, a success for Egypt’s economy that will allow it to keep pace with global environmental requirements and expand the number of environmentally friendly projects.
The Minister of the Environment, who is also the Chair of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity COP14, expressed her full support for the UK’s preparations for the virtual summit on 12 December as well as COP26, which the UK will host in partnership with Italy in Glasgow from 1-12 November 2021. She hoped that the summit would fulfil hopes and aspirations, put the Paris Agreement and its governing principles into action, and benefit developing countries that have been most affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
Sir Laurie Bristow agreed that the summit on 12 December would be an important moment for countries to raise their climate ambitions in order to achieve “net zero” goals. He congratulated Egypt on its own initiatives to confront climate change, including the issuance of green bonds.
The Environment Minister Dr Yasmine Fouad said: “Adaptation and coping with the effects of climate change, climate finance, energy transfer and green recovery are the most important topics for discussion between both sides to push for the implementation of the Paris Agreement. Egypt is taking serious steps to mitigate the effects of climate change by integrating environmental sustainability standards into national development plans and issuing green bonds in joint cooperation between the Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Planning and Ministry of Finance.”
British Ambassador to Egypt Sir Geoffrey Adams said: “The UK enjoys a strong and growing partnership with Egypt on climate change. As we look ahead to COP26, it is more important than ever that we build upon our positive collaboration to solve this pressing challenge. Egypt plays a leading role in the region and we look forward to seeing them leading the way with ambitious long-term strategies that set the path to net zero.”
