COP 27 a ‘watershed moment’ in efforts to address climate crisis, says Egyptian Foreign Minister

FILE: Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry listens to his Russian counterpart during a joint press conference in the capital Cairo, on July 24, 2022. /CFP

The COP27 President-Designate, Sameh Shoukry, has labeled next month’s forum a “watershed moment” in the world’s plan to address the climate crisis.

Shoukry made the remarks on Wednesday at the launch of a new report from UN Climate Change, which noted that despite countries bending the curve of global greenhouse gas emissions downward, the efforts remain insufficient to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius by the end of the century.

“COP27 will be the world’s watershed moment on climate action,” said Shoukry, who also serves as Egypt’s Foreign Minister.

“Raising ambition and urgent implementation is indispensable for addressing the climate crisis. This includes cutting and removing emissions faster and at wider scope of economic sectors, to protect us from more severe adverse climate impacts and devastating loss and damage,” he added.

Shoukry said the report is a sobering moment for the world, and it further asserts that the world is in a race against time.

“Several of those who are expected to do more, are far from doing enough, and the consequences of this is affecting lives and livelihoods across the globe. I am conscious that it is and should be a continuum of action until 2030 then 2050, however, these alarming findings merit a transformative response at COP27,” he spelled out.

Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of UN Climate Change, also added his voice to the calls for more action geared towards achieving climate goals under the Paris Agreement.

“We are still nowhere near the scale and pace of emission reductions required to put us on track toward a 1.5 degrees Celsius world. To keep this goal alive, national governments need to strengthen their climate action plans now and implement them in the next eight years,” he said.

COP 27 is scheduled to take place in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt from November 6-18.

The forum brings together Heads of State, ministers and negotiators, along with climate activists, mayors, civil society representatives and CEOs to deliberate on climate policies and actions aimed at tackling climate challenges.

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