Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi renewed calls on developed countries to fulfill their financial pledges to be able to address the impacts of climate change.
Addressing a closed meeting of heads of states and governments on climate change on Wednesday via videoconference, Sisi stressed that the world countries are facing unprecedented food and energy crises. He also underscored the importance for developed countries to meet their pledges to finance climate adaptation efforts.
Egypt will host the 27th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP27) in Sharm El Sheikh in November.
The Egyptian presidency of the summit focuses on financing as one of the “active” elements to address climate change.
The meeting was co-chaired by Sisi and the United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, and held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meetings in New York.
Sisi presented his country’s vision regarding the elements of the message the world peoples are expecting from the meeting.
The vision included three key points, namely an affirmation that “the international community will not back out of its commitments and pledges to address climate change, regardless of any global circumstance or political dispute.”
The second point is ensuring that world leaders are fully aware that the efforts made do not meet what is required to be achieved.
“We will take all necessary measures to fulfill our commitments whether by raising ambition and updating our nationally-determined contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement, or by supporting all efforts and initiatives aimed at promoting climate action, in partnership with all state and non-state actors.”
The third point focused on the burden placed on developing and least developed countries and all what they must face to fulfill climate commitments, while continuing to make development efforts and eradicate poverty, in light of an unprecedented food and energy crises.
Sisi urged the developed countries to pledge to expedite implementation of its commitments toward these countries to provide climate finance in favor of emissions reduction, adaptation and resilience building.
“This is to be achieved either by fulfilling the $100 billion pledge and doubling funding for adaptation, or by reaching consensus -as soon as possible- on the new funding target for post-2050.”
At the 15th Conference of Parties (COP15) of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Copenhagen in 2009, developed countries committed to a collective goal of mobilizing $100 billion per year by 2020 for climate action in developing countries, in the context of meaningful mitigation actions and transparency on implementation.
However, this pledge was not fully met. According to a report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in September, the highest amount provided was $83.3 billion in 2020.
Sisi further stressed that climate change remains the most dangerous existential challenge facing earth, with its repercussions exacerbating as temperature increases.
He highlighted the recent floods that caused unprecedented damage and loss of life in Pakistan, as well as the unprecedented forest fires caused by rising temperatures in the European continent and the United States, saying they represent a harsh indication of what the future of the next generation will be like.
Sisi said this future could be avoided if world countries act swiftly and coherently to meet climate pledges for cutting emissions, building resilience, and boosting climate finance for developing countries.
