Shaaban Bilal (Union)
The activities of the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate “COP27” continued in Sharm El-Sheikh on its third day in a row with great momentum and wide international participation in the framework of the great global event’s endeavor to develop international cooperation plans to preserve the planet, according to what was announced by Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah. Sisi at the fourth presidential summit, which was held under the title “Coordination of Climate Action in the Middle East and the Eastern Mediterranean” initiative, in the presence of Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades and many international participations. The Egyptian President stressed the necessity of coordinating policies to confront climate change within the framework of the “Initiative for Coordinating Climate Action in the Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean,” which was launched in 2019. Sisi stressed the importance of the role that this initiative can play in the framework of coordinating policies to confront climate change among member states. In a way that contributes to enhancing climate action and efforts to overcome its negative effects within the framework of the regional environment.
He said, “This region is one of the regions in the world most affected by the consequences of climate change and its devastating effects at all levels, which, during the past few years, witnessed severe climatic events such as forest fires, floods and torrential rains that left huge human and material losses.”
He called on non-governmental parties to play complementary and supportive roles for countries and governments that bear the main responsibility for mobilizing support for efforts to confront climate change within the mechanisms of global climate action.
He expressed his aspiration “to learn about what the initiative has been able to achieve since its launch in terms of efforts consistent with the best available science, putting everyone on the right path towards implementing the goals of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, including the 1.5°C goal.”
For his part, Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades affirmed his country’s commitment to supporting relations with all countries in facing the climate change crisis, explaining that all countries are already suffering from the repercussions of climate change. In his speech, Anastasiades stressed the need to exert more effort required to reduce the risks of fires in forests, as well as to confront the causes of drought and floods, pointing to the great efforts that have been made to confront these disasters.
He called for taking everything necessary to develop a tangible action plan with realistic results that can be implemented on the ground, expecting the countries’ efforts to reduce carbon emissions and global warming.
He said that there are great challenges in this field, which require the development of inevitable measures that all countries, parties and industrialized countries abide by to face the repercussions of climate change and support industry sectors to abide by climate standards and standards for reducing carbon emissions.
For his part, Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid said that “the time has come to move towards confronting climate changes in light of the urgent need for all countries to support action plans and develop solutions to start immediately and provide the necessary funding for that.”
In a similar speech, Rashid stressed the need to develop solutions to reduce emissions and global warming, considering that “water resources at the global level are one of the important things that must be taken into consideration.” He stated that “Iraq used to enjoy an abundance of water, but now it suffers from a severe shortage of water resources,” calling on all countries to do their utmost to develop unilateral best practices to control irrigation measures to conserve water, which requires international cooperation. In turn, Jordanian Prime Minister Bishr Al-Khasawneh pledged that his country would take all necessary measures to combat climate change “without compromising national interests,” adding that his country is moving strongly towards the use of clean energy.
In his speech, Al-Khasawneh said that Jordan has an integrated and clear strategy towards the transition to a green economy, stressing the importance of cooperative and collective action to reduce the repercussions of climate change on the environment and food in light of the continuous increase in population numbers.
For his part, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis stressed that climate change affects all aspects of life and directly affects food, the environment, water systems and migration, especially energy.
In a similar speech, Mitsotakis stressed the importance of cooperation in the field of energy, calling on all countries, parties and responsible authorities to strengthen cooperation relations in the field of climate change by developing concrete mechanisms to bring in the necessary resources for emergency response and disasters.
In this context, the Egyptian President announced the launch of the “Global Green Hydrogen Forum” initiative, in partnership with Belgium and in coordination with a number of partners, with the aim of creating a permanent platform for dialogue between hydrogen producing and consuming countries and with the private sector, organizations, and financing institutions working in this field, with the aim of coordinating policies And measures, and creating corridors for trade and investment in hydrogen, which contribute to accelerating the pace of the just transition, which we all aspire to.
In his speech during his participation in the round table “Investing in the Future of Energy: Green Hydrogen” held within the framework of the Climate Summit, President Sisi said: “I announce from here a new initiative that Egypt and Belgium have worked on during the past months in coordination with a number of partners, where Today, I am pleased to announce the initiative, in partnership with Alexandre de Croo, Prime Minister of Belgium.”
President Sisi stressed that the term “green hydrogen” has become more common and used over the past few years in the context of talking about the transition towards renewable energy and reducing dependence on traditional energy sources, especially since the energy crisis that the world is going through at the present time has imposed a real challenge. , in securing the energy supplies that countries need without prejudice to our duties towards facing the global climate crisis or retreating from the goals that have been agreed upon and the national policies through which they contribute to this effort.
The activities of the 27th session of the Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention “COP27” on Climate Change kicked off in Sharm El-Sheikh on Sunday and will continue until November 18, as part of continuous global efforts to save the planet.
Global Climate Action Yearbook
On the sidelines of the Sharm El-Sheikh Climate Summit, the Yearbook of Global Climate Action 2022 was released, which presents an annual report on the progress made by non-governmental entities towards their climate goals, and is evidence that “while obstacles remain, investors, companies, cities, states and regions are working to Build resilience and bring about rapid changes in the real economy.
And the latest edition of the yearbook shows that there are signs of change, despite the discovery that the world is nowhere near the right track toward the 1.5°C target.
New African Carbon Markets
The New African Carbon Markets Initiative (ACMI) has been launched, which aims to support the growth of carbon credit production and job creation in Africa.
The initiative addresses the production of 300 million carbon credits annually by 2030, 1.5 billion credits annually by 2050, supporting 30 million jobs by 2030 and more than 110 million jobs by 2050 with a fair and transparent distribution of revenues to local communities.
Multiple African countries including Kenya, Malawi, Gabon, Nigeria and Togo joined the ACMI launch event to announce their commitment to expanding voluntary carbon markets.
According to a United Nations statement, carbon markets provide an incredible opportunity to unlock billions to meet the climate finance needs of African economies while expanding access to energy, creating jobs, protecting biodiversity and advancing climate action.
The initiative was launched at COP27 in collaboration with the Global Alliance on Energy for People and Planet (GEAPP), Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, with the support of the United Nations High-Level Champions for Climate Change.
“The voluntary African carbon market will only succeed if people trust that African credits drive real climate action and have a positive human impact,” said ACMI Steering Committee Member and USAID Chief Climate Officer Gillian Caldwell.
USAID and ACMI will ensure that this is done with integrity as a key pillar of stimulating high integrity credit production.
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