What Is the Egyptian Agenda Towards COP 27?
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Roshan Amiri
- . September 8, 2022
- . Update: September 27, 2022 1:06 am
Climate action is not just young people’s choice or the school or college’s cry. It should be ‘nationally motivated’ as said by Rania Al Mashat as Egypt’s Minister of International Co-operation, who was speaking on a meeting that was being held just before the COP27 gathering.
As the gathering of African ministers of finance, economy, and environment convened 60 days before the UN Cop 27 climate meeting, there is a lot to discuss but the common string of thought is that ‘for Egypt, climate and environment come hand in hand.’
The meeting was a part of the country’s push to frame Cop27 as an “African Cop”, which seeks to address the needs and aspirations of African countries, in addition to ensuring a global move “from pledges to implementation”.
“Development projects in Egypt have had climate action at their heart since 2014,” Mashat said. The energy pillar is also in focus for Egypt, where the general message being given out is that Egypt is all for “adaptation and resilience, and also to move from pledges to implementation.”
The recently launched programme “NWFE”, is subset of Egypt’s 2050 climate strategy and was announced last July. It is in tandem with the thought of climate change and economic accountability. The programme is called the Nexus of Water, Food, and Energy that discusses the list of prepared projects covering the water-food-energy nexus.
Implementation will require financing. For Egypt, the financing required for NWFE is $14.7 billion, which it hopes to secure by November 2023 — that is, by the time Cop28 is held in Abu Dhabi.
There is an expectation raise funds through COP 27 for which Ms. Mashat is clear when she says that “this is an African Cop”, and “a united voice from Africa is extremely important” on climate action and in preparation of finance day during Cop27 in November.
