Egypt hopes geopolitics won't hinder UN Climate Change Conference
2 Min Read
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry expresses his concerns over the ongoing geopolitical situation, stressing that the COP27 should only focus on climate change issues.
-
Egypt hopes geopolitics won't hinder UN Climate Change Conference
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry hoped on Sunday that the fragile geopolitical situation will not negatively impact the upcoming climate change conference of the United Nations (COP27).
The 27th UN climate change conference, known as COP27, is scheduled to occur in Egypt’s Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh from November 6-18.
"COP27 will be held amidst a global context of strong geopolitical and geo-economic tension and polarisation that we hope will not make it more difficult to tackle common global challenges, notably climate change," Shoukry told the Emirates News Agency (WAM).
All participants must honor their duties and focus on climate change issues, he added.
Read: Egypt warns UK not to withdraw from climate commitment before COP27
"This has been a message we’ve been sending out over the past period to all parties concerned, whether through the informal ministerial meetings that were held throughout the year or during the preparatory meeting for COP27, which was held in the Democratic Republic of the Congo earlier this month," Shoukry said, stressing that the current crises should not "in any way spill over" to the field of climate change.
The participants in the climate summit should realize that the essence of this conference is to tackle climate change challenges, Shoukry emphasized, and that its purpose is not to deal with any other issues that are irrelevant to climate action.
The Paris Agreement was signed in December 2015 after the 21st Conference of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Paris. The agreement has 193 signatories and marks the first global effort in history to coordinate the fight against climate change.
