Egypt Committed to Climate Action & Sustainability: President El-Sisi

Egypt has taken effective steps to shift to a sustainable development model, in line with efforts to preserve the environment and confront climate change, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said today.

Addressing the High-Level Session of Petersberg Climate Dialogue, El-Sisi said that Egypt is taking serious steps to raise the percentage of renewable energy in the energy mix and is preparing a comprehensive strategy for hydrogen.

"The country will spare no effort to make the World Climate Summit a success by providing conducive and inclusive conditions for all parties, the Egyptian President said.

"It also seeks to implement ambitious plans for electrical interconnection with the region in a way that turns us to a renewable energy hub," said El-Sisi adding that Egypt is making continuous efforts to raise energy efficiency and reduce carbon and methane emissions in oil and gas sector.

In the sector of transportation, Egypt is implementing wide-ranging plans to rely more on clean transportation by expanding metro and train networks and localizing the electric car industry.

In parallel, Egypt has strengthened its steps aimed at adapting to the negative effects of climate change, including projects to rationalize water use, lining canals, integrated management of coastal areas, early warning mechanisms and others.

"Scientific projections confirm that climate change has become an existential threat to many countries to the extent that it is no longer possible to postpone implementation of climate-related pledges," he said.

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El-Sisi said that the heat wave experienced by the Europe these days is a good evidence of the accuracy of these projections.

A few days ago Egypt submitted its updated Nationally Determined Contribution document, in accordance with the Paris Agreement, including ambitious and specific quantitative goals in a number of key sectors.

This reflects Egypt's efforts in terms of funding, technical and technological support towards climate action, he added.

Egypt is currently focused on:

The global climate summit to maintain international momentum, to turn promises into action; The process of transition to a low-emission economy capable to deal with climate change; and Enhancing the size, quality and mechanisms of climate financing that is available to developing countries.

"To achieve this vision, Egypt counts on the support of all parties and their contributions to a climate of trust that shall enable us to achieve the results," said El-Sisi. He lauded the statements on climate change made at the G7 summit in Germany last month.

"We underscore the importance of expanding the scale of support to include other developing countries, as well as the importance of participation of international finance institutions and banks in supporting this transition."

"We stress the need to translate these positions and visions into reality in the various negotiations trajectories, within the context of the Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement, he added.

The African continent lies in the heart of these challenges due to limited capacity and finance to address these difficulties. The recent food and energy crises have exacerbated the challenges that African countries face.

In addition to the real threat posed by climate change to the continent suffers from desertification, water scarcity, high sea levels, floods, torrential rains and other extreme weather conditions.

El-Sisi exhorted African countries to benefit from their natural resources, achieve economic development to combat climate change and protect the environment.

The African countries have already made great strides in this direction, given the vast areas of forests they have and capabilities to generate energy from the sun and wind, he said.

This is in addition to the possibility of producing green hydrogen. Equitable transition must be tackled from a comprehensive perspective that is not only limited to energy sector, but also agriculture, industry, transportation and others, he added.

"We will work on launching initiatives and sponsoring a large number of constructive dialogues and discussions."

"We will ensure comprehensive outcomes that contribute to maintaining the 1.5°C target within reach and putting the world on the right path towards implementing the Paris goals," El-Sisi concluded.

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