Sisi: Egypt was keen on joining Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East Climate Change Initiative since its launch in 2019

CAIRO - 8 November 2022: President Abdel Fattah El Sisi said that Egypt was keen on joining the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East (EMME) Climate Change Initiative (EMME-CCI) since it was launched in 2019.

In his word at the Heads of State Summit for the launch of the EMME-CCI on Tuesday, President Sisi stressed the importance of the initiative in coordinating policies to face climate change among the initiative's members in a way that contributes to promoting joint climate action and mitigating the climate change impacts in "our regional environment".

"Our region is one of the most affected regions by the repercussions of climate change and its devastating effects at all levels," President Sisi made it clear.

These repercussions have become crystal clear during the past few years that witnessed extreme weather events in the region, including wildfires, flash floods and torrential rains that caused huge human and material losses, Sisi added.

In his speech, President Sisi welcomed Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and other leaders participating in this important summit that is held in partnership between Egypt and Cyprus.

President Sisi expressed his appreciation of the Cypriot President's keenness on achieving tangible results during "Climate Implementation Summit" that could lead to the implementation of climate pledges.

He stressed that Voluntary Initiatives (VIs), which aimed at mobilizing efforts to confront climate change, have become one of the most important mechanisms for global climate action.

Sisi also underlined the importance of non-governmental parties' contribution to the implementation of these initiatives.

VIs promise to be valuable elements in the portfolio of instruments to help reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to achieve the Kyoto targets and beyond.

The Climate Pledge is a commitment to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2040—10 years ahead of the Paris Agreement, whose goal is to limit global warming to well below 2, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels.

Jordan will take all measures needed to counter climate change, its prime minister assured Tuesday.

Addressing the Heads of State Summit for the launch of the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East (EMME) Climate Change Initiative (EMME-CCI) held on fringe of COP27 on Tuesday, Bishr al Khasawnah said all measures would be taken without undermining national interests.

Khasawnah is in the Egyptian Red Sea resort city of Sharm el Sheikh to attend the international climate conference, COP27, which kicked off here on Sunday.

Jordan is firmly moving toward using clean energy, he told the gathering, stressing that a comprehensive and clear strategy was outlined with the aim to transform to the green economy.

Meanwhile, Secretary General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Petteri Taalas, who delivered a word at heads of state summit at the UN Climate Summit on behalf of UN secretary general, said there are expectations of further rise in temperature in the coming decades. This issue needed more cooperation and coordination at the international level.

"There is no time to waste. Now is the time to get serious about the rise in seawater levels around the world," he added.

According to a statement released by WMO, the organization urged heads of state and government to take more integrated action towards carbon emissions which is a key problem of the climate crisis.

“As the atmosphere passes one degree of warming above pre-industrial levels, sea levels rise and the cryosphere melts, the effects of climate change are being felt as never before. Resultant flooding, heatwaves, droughts, storms and sea level rise worldwide will progressively worsen as warming continues towards 1.5 degrees and beyond,” says the statement.

Currently, 3.6 billion people face inadequate access to water at least a month per year and this is expected to increase to more than 5 billion by 2050. Between 2001 and 2018, UN-Water reported that 74% of all natural disasters are water-related (i.e. flood and droughts. Water-related hazards are therefore an important part of the new initiative to achieve Early Warnings For All in the next five years.

The Water and Climate Leaders are an eminent panel of 18 high-level decision and policy makers, which provides strategic guidance on integrating the water and climate agendas and fronts an international coalition spearheaded by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and nine UN agencies, the Global Water Partnership .