Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly arrived in Nairobi on Monday to represent President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi at the Africa Climate Summit (ACS) hosted by Kenya.
The Prime Minister is expected to deliver three speeches on the first day of the summit, covering various aspects of climate action, in light of Egypt’s current presidency of the COP27 climate summit.
Africa Climate Summit, which runs from 4 to 6 September, aims to deliver climate-positive growth and finance solutions for Africa and the world. According to the agenda, leaders will be asked to make ambitious pledges and commitments.
Africa Climate Summit also seeks to develop a comprehensive pledging and commitment framework, focusing on four main themes: energy systems and industry; cities, urban and rural settlements, infrastructure and transport; land, ocean, food, and water; societies, health, livelihoods, and economies.
The Prime Minister is accompanied by Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Hani Sweilam and Minister of Environment Yasmine Fouad.
Sweilam said that he joined the Africa Climate Summit to communicate and coordinate with other countries on water issues and climate change impacts on the water sector in Africa. He added that the summit’s goal is to develop a common African vision for the COP28 conference in November in the United Arab Emirates.
The Irrigation Minister will also meet with several African ministers and international water officials to discuss water cooperation.
Fouad participated in the adaptation session for the African continent, where she presented examples of adaptation projects implemented by Egypt to cope with the negative effects of climate change. The projects include protecting coasts from sea level rise, managing water resources with canal lining and efficient irrigation, and researching new crop varieties that can withstand extreme climate events.
Fouad said that national adaptation projects are costly for developing countries and require more international support and funding. She also stressed the need for a global adaptation goal to enhance and scale up adaptation efforts in all sectors and align them with sustainable development goals. She said that investments should be compatible with climate change mitigation and adaptation, leading to fewer losses and damages.
She also emphasized the importance of a clear framework and indicators for the global adaptation goal, based on the reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the United Nations Environment Programme, as well as biodiversity and sustainable cities aspects.
During her speech at Africa Climate Summit, Fouad urged developed countries to fulfil their obligations to support developing countries in implementing adaptation activities. She also called for doubling the current adaptation funding and achieving a 50/50 balance between mitigation and adaptation funding as soon as possible.
