Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Patricia Espinosa sign the Host Country Agreement for COP27, 8 June 2022. Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The COP27 agreement was signed in the German city of Bonn during Shoukry’s participation in the Bonn Climate Change Conference (56th session of the Subsidiary Bodies) at the World Convention Centre Bonn in Germany, taking place from 6 to 16 June.
According to the UN, the 56th session of Subsidiary Bodies aims to lay the groundwork for success of COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, as governments in Bonn focus on the key issues of mitigation, adaptation, and supporting developing countries, particularly financially.
On the sidelines of the conference, Shoukry – the President-designate of the COP27 – met the African Group of Negotiators on Climate Change on Wednesday. He stated that Egypt is keen to prioritise African concerns on climate change at COP27.
On Tuesday, Shoukry met with the Climate Action Network (CAN), the largest group of civil society organisations working on climate change. CAN comprises over 1,300 environmental and non-environmental organizations from over 130 countries.
At the opening of the Bonn sessions on Tuesday, Espinosa claimed that the world is going to have one question in Sharm El-Sheikh: “what progress have you made since Glasgow?”
“We urgently require political intervention and decisions… in order to achieve a balanced package. Doing so will send a clear message to the world that we are headed in the right direction,” Espinosa said.
The UN’s top climate change official warned that climate change is exponentially in progress. Espinosa claimed that by the end of the century, the world will reach more than double the 1.5-degree Celsius goal of the Paris Agreement. Immediate and urgent action and progress in Bonn is needed to avoid the worst impact of climate change.
Egypt has repeatedly highlighted ambitions to build on the Glasgow COP26 outcomes and support global efforts in mitigation and adapting to climate change during COP27.
Egypt has reiterated the need to maintain current momentum in climate action to keep global temperatures under 1.5 degrees Celsius within reach, with COP27 set to primarily focus on urging countries to abide by the Paris Agreement.
In May, Egypt's Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly launched the National Strategy for Climate Change 2050, which is based on five main pillars to preserve the environment and aims to enhance Egypt’s climate change leadership internationally
Madbouly said that Egypt will spare no effort through its presidency of COP27 to relentlessly seek to move from the stage of commitments and pledges declared by the states to the stage of actual implementation of quick and tangible measures.
Egypt also launched in late May the official website of COP27, and revealed its official logo that is uniquely designed to represent the cultural identity of Egypt and Africa, according to the Egyptian foreign ministry.
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