The CSW66, extending from 9 to 25 March, is held under the theme, “Achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls in the context of climate change, environmental and disaster risk reduction policies and programmes.”

In her speech at the opening session, Morsy highlighted the Egyptian government’s tireless endeavours to address climate change along with empowering Egyptian women in various fields.

She also invited all the participants in CSW66 to visit Egypt and partake in the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP27), which is set to be held in November in Sharm El-Sheikh city.

During the session, Morsy explained Egypt’s global multidimensional perspective to promote efforts to protect the environment, tackle climate change and enhance women’s empowerment.

The Egyptian perspective highlights the need for promoting gender sensitive perspectives within climate adaptation, mitigation, and responses, Morsy said.

The Egyptian perspective is also based on enhancing women’s voices, active participation in environmental governance, and providing leveraging opportunities for women within the framework of achieving just environmental transition to the green economy and green consumption habits, Morsy said.

The NCW president underscored Egypt’s initiatives, programs, and projects to promote climate adaptation and mitigation, while also enhancing women’s empowerment.

This includes an initiative to raise awareness among women about methods of reducing greenhouse gas emission as well as holding environmental camps to educate women to engage in eco-friendly industries, she explained.

She also mentioned the ‘Hayah Karima’ (Decent Life) national program, which dedicates EGP 800 billion to improve the lives of 58 million citizens in the countryside, 50 percent of whom are women.

“Furthermore, Egypt launched its Vision of 2030, which includes the environmental dimension and the integration of women’ empowerment principles, as well as the National Strategy for the Empowerment of Women in the context of the pillars of protection and economic empowerment,” she said.

Preparing for COP27, empowering women

Egypt is preparing to host COP27 this year with the presence of international partners as well as youth and representatives of civil society organisations that operate in the field of the environment.

On Monday, Egypt’s Environment Minister Yasmine Fouad said the country will launch a national dialogue on climate action by the end of March to engage the public, including youth and women, in the country's plans to mitigate the impacts of climate change ahead of COP27.

Over recent years, Egypt has also worked on promoting climate-focused programmes, including launching a package of economic tools to finance green projects in the fields of renewable energy and electric vehicle manufacturing.

Meanwhile, the country has exerted much efforts to empower women and include them in the decision-making process, including through increasing the number of women ministers as well as on parliamentary seats and judicial institutions.