Cairo – Ashraf AboArafe
15 June 2021, CAIRO – Dr. Yasmine Fouad, Minister of Environment, met with British Minister of State for Energy, Clean Growth and Climate Change and the UK’s International Champion on Adaptation and Resilience for COP26, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, in her first visit in the role, to discuss possible avenues for the UK to support Egypt in raising its climate ambitions, ahead of COP26 in November with Dr. Mohamed Gad, representative from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and a number of other senior ministerial figures attending.
Minister Trevelyan called on Egypt to use its influence as a key player in the region to encourage other countries to commit to COP26’s newly announced four goals, on adaptation, mitigation, finance, and collaboration. Both parties also examined ways to reinforce the UK and Egypt’s strong partnership on Adaptation and Resilience, discussing the priorities of the Adaptation Action Coalition (AAC), co-led by both countries, for the coming six months ahead of COP26.
During the meeting, Dr. Fouad stressed that adaptation measures are a priority for developing countries and the African continent, as well as the importance of preserving the environment and committing to adaptation and resilience, calling for further discussions to reach nature-led solutions and search for success stories that can help in achieving those climate goals.
Dr. Fouad pointed out that the COVID-19 pandemic showed the importance of realizing President Sisi’s initiative to link together the three Rio Conventions (climate change, biodiversity, and combating desertification) that he launched during the opening of the COP14 Biodiversity Conference chaired by Egypt in 2018. This was a result of the need to link these agreements together to unify efforts and achieve better results, thereby achieving real sustainable development.
Minister Fouad stressed, therefore, the importance of mobilizing efforts to complete this initiative, and for the international community to be aware of the need to achieve the desired goals of the three agreements, which have not made real progress so far as a result of working on each agreement individually. That is why Egypt was keen to lead on discussions with the international community and international institutions such as the Green Climate Fund to talk about the necessity of linking those agreements together.
Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan, the UK’s International Champion for Adaptation and Resilience for COP26, commented: “It has been fantastic to meet with Her Excellency Minister of Environment, Dr Yasmine Fouad, and learn more about how Egypt is working to build local, national and global resilience to the impacts of climate change. I want to thank Dr Fouad for hosting me today. As co-founders of the Adaptation Action Coalition and regional leaders on climate action, Egypt are valuable partners ahead of COP26. I look forward to working together to drive further action to reduce global emissions and help vulnerable communities adapt to climate change.”
Ambassador Mohamed Gad, Director of Environment & Sustainable Development at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, expressed Egypt’s appreciation for the UK’s efforts in the climate field, and its aspiration to produce effective results from the upcoming COP26 under the presidency of the United Kingdom, giving special importance to issues of adaptation, which are a priority for many countries, including Egypt. This is an urgent and complex issue, requiring greater efforts from the international community to help countries identify their priorities and needs, and to reach clear and implementable measures. These include the achievements made in mitigation, which have come as a result of the collective efforts of experts and scientists to implement them.
On the other hand, Minister Trevelyan announced that the British Egyptian Business Association and the Egyptian British Chamber of Commerce have joined the Race To Zero campaign, a global alliance of companies, cities and other entities all committing to achieving net zero emissions by 2050.
Following her departure from Cairo, Minister Trevelyan will be visiting Accra, in Ghana, to showcase the UK’s commitment to championing adaptation and resilience.
