Egypt calls for unifying African efforts, voices ahead of COP 28

CAIRO – 19 August 2023: Egyptian Minister of Environment Yasmine Fouad called for synergy and unification of African efforts and voices in the upcoming UN Climate Conference (COP 28) due to convene this November in Dubai.

Fouad’s call was stated during her participation in the nineteenth session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) that was held in Addis Ababa from 14 to 18 August 2023.

The Minister of Environment reviewed the global initiatives launched by Egypt during the Cop27 Climate Summit in 2022, which focused on human needs and developed a vision for how to confront climate change impacts with adopting science, solutions and financing.

Fouad also reviewed Egypt's experience in the state's general budget concerning green projects and setting the first standards for integrating the environmental dimension into national plans and projects.

The 19th session came under the theme “Seizing opportunities and enhancing collaboration to address environmental challenges in Africa”, and aimed to enhance cooperation between various institutions and improve the implementation of regional and global environmental frameworks in order to face the challenges facing the African continent, said Fouad in the statement.

During the opening session, she discussed the issues of climate change, biodiversity and desertification, noting that Egypt was keen to allocate a day during the COP27 climate conference for biodiversity, and to launch the Enhancing Nature-based Solutions for an Accelerated Climate Transformation (ENACT) which links mitigation, adaptation and restoration of ecosystems.

Fouad also participated in the ministerial session on "green investment", which was held to accelerate investments in the fields of technology and capacity development in Africa, adding that Egypt seeks to make 100% of the state’s projects green by 2030.

Participating as a main speaker in the “Climate Financing and Biodiversity Financing” session, Fouad highlighted the importance of the upcoming event of COP 28 in ensuring the mobilization of $20 billion financing for the Biodiversity Fund and not just focusing on obtaining $100 billion dollars in climate finance.

Additionally, Yasmine Fouad held a number of bilateral meetings with her Kenyan counterpart, Hon. Soipan Tuya, and President-designate of COP 28 Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber.