Environment minister: Climate change is not environmental issue but developmental

CAIRO - 17 September 2018: Minister of Environment Yasmine Fouad asserted Monday that climate change is not only an environmental issue but is also related to development and could affect all activities of the state in various sectors.

Addressing the 10th meeting of the consultative council on climate change, Fouad said Egypt will host in November the biggest environment conference in its history under the name of "Convention on Biological Diversity".

She pressed the need for outlining an initiative by the countries participating in the conference to address biological diversity and climate change issues especially in the developing countries. The minister also asserted that the Egyptian people are fully aware of the climate changes taking place in the African continent.

On November 17-29, 2018, the United Nations will call on decision makers from more than 190 countries to step up efforts to halt the biodiversity loss and protect the ecosystems that support food and water security and health for billions of people. The UN Biodiversity Conference (14th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity - COP 14) will be held in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.

The UN Biodiversity Conference is the governing body of the Convention on Biological Diversity, and advances implementation of the Convention through the decisions it takes at its periodic meetings.

In addition, on the margins of the UN Biodiversity Conference, pledges and commitments in support of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 will be made by governments, business, NGOs and intergovernmental organizations, cities and subnational authorities, indigenous peoples and local communities, youth and civil society.