The United States and Egypt launched a joint working group to prepare for the U.N. climate change summit being held in Egypt in November, a U.S. envoy said.
John Kerry, President Biden's special envoy for climate, said the group is focused on the U.N.'s COP27 conference in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. He said Egypt, which is chairing the summit, has already begun its preparations and set ambitious goals.
Kerry said other world tensions, including the ongoing Ukraine crisis, "will not change the reality of what is happening every day with respect to our climate,'' and called the issue an "international threat for all of us.''
Kerry, who also met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, was referring to conflicts in the Middle East.
Shoukry said they discussed priorities and goals of the Egyptian-chaired COP27, including making funds available to developing counties to implement the Paris 2015 agreement on climate change. He did not further elaborate.
In the news briefing, Kerry said they aim to implement all promises made in last year's U.N. climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland. In the 2021 summit, almost 200 nations accepted a compromise deal, which outside experts said showed progress, but not success.
Also on Monday, the Council of Europe warned in a statement that a lack of at-scale funding for "resilient and just energy transitions'' in developing countries is an obstacle for green and sustainable development.
The European Union urged rich countries to meet the collective commitment to mobilize $100 billion per year in 2022 as financial aid to poor countries, according to the statement.
Kerry also said the U.S. was working with Egypt on its own transition to a clean energy future.
Source: Al-Ahram Online
