Egypt’s Minister of Environment Yasmine Fouad has met with UN International Children’s Emergency Fund’s (UNICEF) Representative in Egypt Jeremy Hopkins to discuss cooperation in the climate change file at the national level and to discuss the programme’s priorities for 2022 and mechanisms for integrating children in efforts to confront the effects of climate change.
The meeting also included discussions on the ministry’s efforts to integrate the environmental dimension into the educational system and benefiting from the educational bags prepared by the ministry for teachers and circulating them in all governorates. It also addressed supporting Egypt in implementing activities and events for children and youths during the United Nations’ Conference of Parties on Climate Change (COP 27).
Fouad also stressed the necessity of placing the UN’s specialised agencies on the issue of climate change at the heart of developing their action plans, noting that Egypt has shown more interest and political commitment to the climate file, the ministry said in a statement on Sunday.
According to Fouad, Egypt’s efforts aim to integrate the dimension of climate change into all development sectors, and one of its most important fruits was the 2050 National Climate Change Strategy, which was launched at the COP 26 that was held in Glasgow and is currently translated into a package of executive projects within the framework of the Egyptian state’s preparations to lead climate action by chairing the upcoming COP 27.
The minister pointed to the possibility of cooperating with UNICEF in building on the ‘Go Green Initiative’ to launch a media campaign on climate change, presenting appropriate topics and messages for children and youths in various media and social media platforms.
Additionally, the ministry hopes to launch an annual award to raise awareness among young people and children on climate change and link it to biodiversity. She also pointed to the possibility of cooperation in the national climate dialogue, which will be launched soon and will target different groups, including children and youths, to create a debate and dialogue on climate issues at the national level.
