President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi participated via video-conference in a meeting with heads of state and government on climate, on the sidelines of the 76th session of the UN General Assembly.
It was presided-over by Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson, with the participation of a number of heads of state and government including, UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
The Spokesman of the Presidency said the President’s participation in this important meeting came as a new phase began in international action on climate, given the threat posed by climate change and its negative repercussions on humanity.
President El-Sisi underscored the need for developing countries to assume their responsibilities and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in compliance with their international commitments, within The Paris Agreement and The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
This comes in light of the recent broad scale wildfires that broke out in different parts of the world, confirming that climate change has become an appalling truth that requires swift action.
The President asserted the need to seriously address any unilateral measures that contribute to exacerbating the repercussions of climate change.
Those include primarily the construction of dams on international rivers without the consent of all downstream countries on their filling rules and operation.
This comes in light of efforts aimed at addressing adaptation issues which represent a crucial aspect of international action on climate and an utmost priority for developing countries, particularly the African continent which is hardest hit by this phenomenon, notably with regard to water scarcity, drought, desertification, and threats to food-security.
President El-Sisi also underlined the need for the next session of the UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties, chaired by the UK, to come out with tangible results in terms of climate change financing and their mechanisms, notably with regard to adaptation efforts and the Green Climate Fund.
This shall contribute to enhancing action on climate in developing countries and alleviating most of their burden, particularly in light of the current gap in climate financing between what developing countries need to live up to their commitments and what is actually available.
The Spokesman added that the President announced that Egypt looks forward to hosting the 27th session of the UN Climate Change Conference in 2022 on behalf of Africa.
The President asserted that Egypt will work on making this session a radical turning point in international action on climate in partnership with all parties, for the benefit of the African continent and the entire world.
Source: State Information Service Egypt