Egypt warns that COP27 countries cannot hide behind the economy to stop climate promises

CAIRO, Oct. 30 (DPA/EP) -

Egypt, which will host the United Nations climate talks next month, has warned participating countries not to use "economic pessimism" as a pretext for a possible rollback on climate pledges.

"There has been concern that the current state of affairs that countries may go backwards," Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said.

"To backtrack on the antagonistic political positions that exist... due to the pressures of the general global economic circumstances, and therefore use what would be extenuating circumstances to justify their backtracking... This would, I think, be a very self-defeating stance." "" Shoukry told dpa in an interview.

The UN climate summit, known as COP27, will take place in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el Sheikh, on the Red Sea, from November 6 to 18 in the context of the war in Ukraine that has soared the prices of food and energy. The conference also comes after disparate climate-related events have wreaked havoc in some parts of the world.

Representatives from around 200 countries will discuss how global warming can be contained and how climate damage can be financed. And the host has promoted COP27 as an action summit.

"We see COP27 as the COP of implementation where states and parties will highlight their commitment to implement their previous commitments and lay the groundwork for the future in terms of additional commitments that address challenges," Soukry said.

For him, success depends on the determination and political will of the parties involved, as well as the understanding that rich and poor countries are affected equally, "regardless of the seas that divide them."

The official has cited recent devastating floods in Pakistan, heat waves in Europe and hurricanes in the United States as catalysts for climate stakeholders to act.

"People are losing their lives," said Shoukry, who is the designated president of COP27. "If the international community of parties does not rise to the occasion, they will be responsible for the deteriorating situation and the continued suffering of a large segment of the world's population."

Shoukry hoped that the divergence over geopolitical tensions "would not be imported" into the COP process. "There are other places to deal with these issues. And certainly here the focus should be on climate change."

However, the official sees a "confidence deficit" due to the breach of previous commitments. In 2009, developed countries pledged to provide $100 billion a year in financing by 2020 for climate protection in poor countries. The promise remains largely unfulfilled.

Shoukry called the $100 billion figure "tiny" on the scale of the globe and in terms of the capabilities of developed countries, whose budgets sometimes run into trillions of dollars. "It certainly has no real impact on the challenges of climate change," he concluded.

"It's a miniscule number that should have been met... So meeting them is still important, but we also need to be practical, we need to do a lot more to make it impactful." But how to make these funds available is a matter of collective will, according to Shoukry.

COP27 will also address how global warming can be limited to a temperature rise of 1.5 degrees Celsius, a target set in the 2015 Paris agreement. In Shoukry's view, the assumption that the target has been out of reach for a long time is justified. "If you address the enormity of the problem and its impact, and also the need to have ambition, you can make that assessment," he said.

"But it doesn't really help us for the future. If we're going to assess shortcomings in the past, I think that shouldn't stop us from maintaining ambition for the future, or else we'll find ourselves in a vicious cycle of ineffectiveness." "

The UN climate talks in Egypt mark the first time they have been held in Africa in years, since the COP held in Morocco in the north of the continent in 2016. Having the summit in Egypt raises Africa's hopes that the world rich inject more money in the fight against climate change, understands the representative.

"There are ambitions and expectations not only of African states, but shared by the broader community of developing countries associated with their ability to meet their responsibilities and commitments within the context of shared but differentiated responsibilities," Shoukry said.

Some human rights groups have expressed concern about possible restrictions on the meaningful participation of environmental activists at COP27. However, Shoukry has stated that her country wants to provide civil society groups with a "receptive and comfortable" environment. "We have every wish that civil society be present, that they be granted the same rights and privileges (as) in any other COP."

Egypt, where street protests are restricted, has said activists will be allowed to demonstrate in a designated area adjacent to the conference venue.