Egypt’s Acting Minister of Environment Manal Awad said on Tuesday that “there can be no effective climate policy without a solid scientific foundation,” stressing that Egypt is moving ahead with its National Adaptation Plan (NAP) with support from the Green Climate Fund and in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Awad made the remarks during a coordination meeting with national research centres involved in climate risk assessments under the NAP project, held alongside an introductory workshop for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
She said the plan marks a shift from diagnosing climate risks to delivering implementable adaptation solutions, based on a comprehensive assessment of climate impacts across priority sectors. The objective, she added, is to embed climate adaptation into national planning frameworks and development policies.
Awad highlighted the strategic role of research institutions in producing evidence-based assessments aligned with IPCC standards, translating climate data into practical risk maps for policymakers, and developing locally grounded adaptation measures that respond to the needs of vulnerable communities.
She noted that the Ministry of Environment is committed to facilitating data exchange and providing institutional support to researchers, stressing that the project’s outputs will serve as a scientific reference for engaging international climate finance institutions and translating the adaptation plan into bankable green development projects.
For her part, UNDP Resident Representative Chitose Noguchi said the meeting reflects a shared commitment to strengthening the scientific basis guiding Egypt’s climate adaptation strategies. She pointed to UNDP-supported coastal protection pilot projects that contributed to the expansion of nature-based shoreline protection systems along 69 kilometres of the Nile Delta coastline.
Head of the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency Sherif Abdel Rahim stressed the importance of securing sustained funding to develop an interactive climate risk mapping tool capable of projecting potential threats through to 2100.
UNDP officials said completing sectoral climate risk assessments by May is critical to finalising the National Adaptation Plan and securing the necessary official approvals before the end of the year.
Participants agreed that close coordination between government ministries and research institutions will be essential to ensuring Egypt’s adaptation plan becomes a practical implementation roadmap and a model for other developing countries facing similar climate challenges.
