The US and Egypt established a joint working group on Monday to prepare for the next climate change summit in November, according to the American ambassador for climate problems.
The group is focusing on the United Nations‘ COP27 summit in Egypt’s Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, according to Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry. He stated that the country’s preparations for the meeting had already begun.
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Other global conflicts, such as the present Ukraine situation, Kerry said, “will not change the reality of what is happening every day with respect to our climate,” and that the issue is an “international threat for all of us.”
“This has nothing to do with politics. This has nothing to do with ideology,” Kerry said. He remarked at a news conference in Cairo with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukry that “this has nothing to do with some of the issues” that the US administration is concerned about. Neither official answered reporters’ inquiries.
Kerry, who also met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, was likely referring to Middle East crises and Egypt’s human rights record, which has been criticised by the United States and other Western governments.
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According to Shukry, they discussed the Egyptian-chaired COP27’s aims and goals, including making cash accessible to developing countries to execute the Paris 2015 climate change agreement.
The former US senator and secretary of state, who arrived in Cairo on Sunday, is slated to talk on the future of international climate action at the American University in Cairo in the run-up to COP27, according to the State Department.
Kerry stated that the US was also collaborating with Egypt on its own renewable energy transformation.
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Kerry indicated in June that the US would raise assistance to help Egypt transition to solar energy and away from fossil fuels, which are still a key source of energy in the country of over 100 million people.
President Abdel Fattah el-government Sissi’s has taken steps in recent years to switch to renewables, taking advantage of the country’s ideal solar and wind conditions for energy harvesting.
However, environmental activists have chastised the government for razing green spaces and felling tens of thousands of trees for infrastructure projects, particularly in Cairo, where a massive cloud of pollution frequently lingers.