Press Releases

• Scientific research critical to accelerating delivery for mitigation and adaptation
• Egypt launches 1st Vulnerability Assessment Map and One Health initiative
• Speakers across sessions from FAO, UNDP, WHO and IPCC as well as senior representatives from the Egyptian Government

Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt,10 November 2022 – COP27’s second thematic day focused on the importance of scientific developments and research to solve the catastrophic long-term problems that the world is facing as a result of climate change. The various sessions concluded that scientists need to do more to make their data available and understandable to help policy makers fight climate change.

Science Day comprised of panel discussions and events to bring forward the outcomes of the reports and their recommendations, and further enhance engagement of the climate community, practitioners, and different stakeholders to discuss and engage on the linkages and findings related to climate change.

Commenting on Science Day, COP27 President H.E. Sameh Shoukry said, “Science plays a key role in informing the climate process, providing critical evidence and numbers to build the case for action and the urgency of implementation. We hope that all the participants in our thematic day on science leave with a stronger desire for finding science-based solutions and plan for implementation that leaves no one behind.”

COP President Shoukry also added: “While we cannot turn back time on melting glaciers and reverse global emissions, we can stop backsliding on our commitments and slow down, even stop some of the impact of climate change by drawing upon science to find solutions.”

The opening of Science Day kicked-off with a session, “IPCC 6th Assessment Report: How to Accelerate Global Climate Action,” during which the panel reiterated the message that humans have changed climate. Featuring Egyptian Minister of Environment Dr Yasmine Fouad, Egyptian Minister of Higher Education, HE Mohamed Ayman Ashour, and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Chair, Hoesung Lee, the speakers referenced the warnings from the global scientific and academic community and the need for science-based information to support implementation.

As part of Science Day at COP27, Egypt launched its 1st Vulnerability Assessment Map, which was informed by data from the IPCC that gathered policymakers to support its commitment to planning that is informed by science and evidence.

Also launched at Science Day was the One Health Initiative at the session, “Health and Climate Change: One Health for All: One Vision and One Response”. The session, led by His Excellency Professor Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar, Egypt’s Minister of Health and Population, along with WHO, UNDP and FAO, laid out ambition to improve the health of all – human and animal – in the face of the impact of climate change.

One Health builds on the learnings, and costs of, COVID-19 where lower- and middle-income countries received the brunt of the disease burden. Egypt’s One Health Action Plan will provide better mitigation to confront this climate change health crisis.

During the day, several panels organized by the Egypt COP27 Presidency panels took place including:

• Uniting Global Scientific Research Efforts to Tackle Climate Change, wherein the key takeaway was a call for policy makers to use scientific research to help move from assessment to implementation

• Global and Regional Environmental Conventions, Assessments and Outlooks: Harmonizing Efforts, which urged for the importance of speed in delivering science-based evidence of impact against climate change

• Africa’s Changing Environment: Improve Africa’s Resilience to Climate Change, which called for African countries to develop systematic approaches to data, to help make informed policy decisions

• Redirect: The role of research, development and innovation in addressing climate change’ focused on the role of academic communities as coordinators between policy makers and everyday people

• COP27 Global Stocktake Climate Datathon discussed the role of data in the Global Stocktake, to achieve the objectives of the Paris Agreement

• COP President H.E. Sameh Shoukry spoke to global youth at a tour of the Children and Youth Pavilion
• The Children and Youth Pavilion is the first of its kind at a COP providing space for talks and events to enable young people to come together to push for climate action

Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, 9 November 2022 – COP27 President H.E. Sameh Shoukry today addressed crowds at the Child & Youth Pavilion at COP27 following a tour of the Pavilion.

Speaking at the Children & Youth Pavilion COP27 President H.E. Sameh Shoukry urged youth to speak out:

“I depend on your voices.  It is your future that we are supposed to be here to guarantee.  And it is only through your voices, your advocacy and your inspiration that you will have be able to enjoy your right to take full advantage of the earth, the forests and the air and to live a long and prosperous future on our beautiful planet once government’s undertake their responsibilities.  You are the future and it is your voice that will help deliver it.”

Following his address the COP27 President received a petition from young people campaigning for loss and damage funding which following negotiations at the outset of the COP.

The first of its kind Children & Youth Pavilion provides a place for young people to engage, debate and collaborate to make their voice heard at the COP.  Activity includes: initiative launches, talks and events for the under 35’s.  Free meeting rooms and coffee also help young people to get together for implementation at COP27.

The Egypt COP Presidency has taken a number of steps to ensure that the youth constituency is playing a key role in COP27.  Steps include: the first ever Youth Climate Pavilion and Youth-led Climate Forum, the creation of a full Young and Future Generations Day co-created and implemented with YOUNGO, and the establishment of a COP27 Presidency Youth Envoy, Dr. Omnia El Omrani.

As part of another youth initiative the Youth-led Climate Forum will be presenting key findings of a policy paper that will be introduced via two roundtables on the Young Future Generations Day on November 10 at COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh. For the first time ever, this youth statement will find its way to the COP Presidency’s Action Agenda where youth representatives, Ministers and negotiators will discuss the expectations and the demands agreed by the youth activists.

Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, 8 November 2022 – Today, President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and the Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre launched the first phase of a project to establish a major green hydrogen plant in Egypt’s Ain Sokhna on the Red Sea.

President El-Sisi and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre launched on Tuesday the first phase of a project to establish a major green hydrogen plant with a capacity to produce 100 MW, as part of the 2022 UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) being held in Sharm El-Sheikh.

The event took part of the final day of the Climate Implementation Summit, with more than 100 heads of state and government gathering on the opening days of COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt to work towards the implementation of existing climate agreements.

El-Sisi hailed the project, which will be implemented in cooperation with the Norwegian energy giant Scatec, saying it provides “a practical model of investment partnership that stimulates sustainable economic development with a focus on the role of the national and foreign private sector besides the government’s role, working side by side in this fruitful sector.”

Scatec has been a major developer at Egypt’s massive Benban solar park in Upper Egypt’s Aswan, one of the largest solar parks worldwide with a total capacity of 1.8 GW.

The Green Hydrogen Plant is part of Egypt’s wider green hydrogen strategy, which has a vision to produce green hydrogen at the cheapest price worldwide.

The strategy, implemented in cooperation with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Arab Union for Sustainable Development and Environment, seeks to help Egypt contribute to eight percent of the global hydrogen market, Egypt’s cabinet said in a statement on Saturday.

President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi said: “Green hydrogen has become one of the most important solutions on the way toward a green economy during the coming years. It is an example where developing countries, including Egypt, are taking great steps. However, we still have to face challenges resulting from the tendency of some countries to back local green hydrogen in a way that decreases their production cost.”

“This causes imbalance in the global hydrogen market and contributes to undermining the competitiveness of the green hydrogen produced in developing countries compared to the developed countries,” the President added.

Moreover, during the High-Level Roundtable on “Investing in the future of Energy: Green Hydrogen” on the margins of the Sharm El Sheikh Climate Implementation Summit at COP27, co-chaired with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, President El-Sisi, and the Prime Minister of Belgium, Mr. Alexander De Croo, announced the launch of the “Global Renewable Hydrogen Forum”.

The Forum constitutes a multi-stakeholder public-private platform designed to facilitate large-scale deployment of renewable hydrogen to foster decarbonization of local industries, accelerate just transition and unlock the environmental and socio-economic benefits of the global hydrogen economy, and to identify the best instruments enabling the cross-border trade of renewable hydrogen between renewables-rich developing countries the developed countries.

On the Eve of the 27^th UN Climate Change Conference, COP27 – set to commence on 6 November in Sharm El Sheikh Egypt, Egypt’s Presidency has honored the moment through the illumination of Egypt’s historic Pyramids.

Honoring the past for a sustainable future, the Egyptian Presidency of COP27 is focused on turning pledges into action, for the benefit of future generations.

• Global climate conference starts in Sharm El Sheikh this week
• Around 45,000 international delegates will come together for implementation to save lives and livelihoods

Cairo, Egypt – 5 November 2022: Egypt lit up Khafre Pyramid, one of the three ancient pyramids of Giza for COP27 that date back 4,500 years, ahead of the start of the global climate conference on November 6.
Egypt will take over the COP Presidency and around 45,000 international delegates are expected to come together to advance the world’s climate agenda by increasing ambition and accelerating climate action.
Expected to be one of the largest COP summits ever hosted, COP27 runs from November 6 to 18 and will start with the Climate Implementation Summit that will gather over 100 world leaders.

Dear Recipients

Egypt Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry was elected as COP27 President at the opening ceremony of COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh Egypt today – 6 November 2022. COP27 officially placed loss and damage funding on its agenda for the first time.

Egypt Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry elected as COP27 President
COP27 places loss and damage funding on its agenda

• Nations must move from pledges and promises to meaningful action
• Equitable and just energy transition essential with funding overdue
• Current geopolitical challenges must not derail or delay action to meet climate targets
• Loss and Damage finance is part of the COP Agenda for the first time ever

Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, 6 November 2022 – Egypt Foreign Minister H.E. Sameh Shoukry was formally elected as the COP27 President by the Parties during the opening plenary, following which he called on countries to show faith in multilateralism over the next two weeks as they negotiate to deliver on the goals of the Climate Convention and the Paris Agreement.

Addressing climate envoys and delegates at what is considered to be one of the largest COPs ever in terms of attendance, COP President HE Sameh Shoukry said: “It comes as no surprise to anyone that the COP is being held this year in a world which is witnessing political turmoil that cast a long shadow on all our nations and has resulted in energy and food crises; however these challenges should be no reason for delaying our collective effort to fight climate change. It is inherent on us all in Sharm El Sheikh to demonstrate our recognition of the magnitude of the challenges we face and our steadfast resolve to overcome it.”

Minister Shoukry highlighted that Egypt made sure that COP27 will provide the optimum setting to align and converge multiple views, and facilitate transparent, inclusive, and fruitful discussion to ensure the most positive outcome achievable. He stressed that albeit the challenging economic and geopolitical factors, external circumstances should not be allowed to negatively affect the negotiating process, adding that as a COP hosted in Africa, it must consider the needs of the developing countries and ensure climate justice through availing the appropriate finance and other means of implementation, as countries that are the least responsible for emissions are the most affected by climate change.

The new COP President, HE Shoukry acknowledged the tireless efforts of his predecessor, COP26 President Alok Sharma, and thanked Mr. Sharma and his team for their effort and dedication with everything they achieved in hosting COP26 and commended the outcomes and agreements their work helped to secure, reiterating the commitment of the Egyptian Presidency to deliver on an impactful and inclusive COP.

The conference of the parties adopted its agenda, and for the first time since the adoption of the UN climate convention, parties agreed to introduce loss and damage funding as an agenda item at the climate conference, after a yearlong work culminating in 48 hours of continuous informal consultations led by the Egyptian COP Presidency on the eve of the COP. Shoukry lauded the sense of responsibility and commitment that parties showed, as well as the collective keenness on preserving the credibility and relevance of the climate process by making the right decision that responds to the suffering of millions of climate calamities’ victims around the world.

More than 50,000 attendees are registered and expected to participate at COP27’s Blue Zone and thousands of others at the Green Zone. The Egyptian Presidency has designated several key thematic days that will include pledging opportunities, discussions, roundtables, and side events. The thematic days are part of efforts to advance climate action that can address existing implementation bottlenecks and gaps and deepen engagement with youth, women, civil society and indigenous people.

The Sharm El-Sheikh Climate Implementation Summit will start tomorrow and runs for two days, bringing all participating heads of state and government. Following the summit’s inauguration, several roundtables led and attended by tens of world leaders will be held to focus on six key topics: Just Transitions, Food Security, Innovative Finance for Climate and Development, Investing in the Future of Energy, Water Security, and Climate Change and The Sustainability of Vulnerable Communities

• Over 40,000 expected attendees to participate in COP27 and other related activities from November 6-18
• Sharm El-Sheikh Climate Implementation Summit, thematic days, flagship initiatives, and Green Zone activities will engage with climate and other overlapping global challenges
• Diverse representation will include around 100 heads of states and governments, and tens of thousands of delegates, civil society, media and all other relevant stakeholders

Cairo, Egypt – 2 November 2022 – COP27, the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference, hosted by Egypt in Sharm El Sheikh will see delegates from around the world participate in the annual climate change negotiations.  With over 40,000 estimated attendees, the summit is expected to host one of the largest number of participants in the annual global climate conference, which is running from November 6 to 18 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.

Speaking ahead of the conference, Ambassador Wael Aboulmagd, Special Representative to the COP27 President said: “The Egyptian Presidency team has worked tirelessly to create an enabling environment that is conducive to successful negotiations.  As the hosts of the COP, we are keen on bringing representative of nations and stakeholders from across the world and to provide the required momentum to address the required actions for urgent and at-scale implementation of climate commitments and pledges.”

The Sharm El-Sheikh International Convention Center (SHICC) will form the overall Blue Zone for COP27. The Blue Zone is where all negotiations amongst delegates are set to take place. In addition, a long list of dynamic events will be organized by Governments and accredited observers including youth advocates and scientists.

A 22,500 square meter Green Zone is where the business community, youth, civil society, academia, and artists from all over the world will have an additional space to be present and participate. It aims to promote inclusive and dynamic dialogue and engagement among climate actors via events, exhibitions, workshops, cultural performances, and talks.

The Sharm El-Sheikh Climate Implementation Summit will take place November 7-8, bringing all participating heads of state and government. Following the summit’s inauguration, several roundtables will be held to focus on six key topics: Just Transitions, Food Security, Innovative Finance for Climate and Development, Investing in the Future of Energy, Water Security, and Climate Change and The Sustainability of Vulnerable Communities.

On the sidelines of the global negotiations set to take place in Egypt during the conference, the COP27 Egyptian Presidency has also designated several key thematic days that will include panel pledging opportunities, discussions, roundtables, and side events. These thematic days are a part of efforts to advance climate action that can address existing implementation bottlenecks and gaps, and deepen engagement with youth, women, civil society, and indigenous people, among others, at the center of the discussions. Key focus areas include the promise of innovation and clean technologies as well as the centrality of water and agriculture to the climate crisis, biodiversity loss, energy transition, decarbonization efforts and finance. Three days will be dedicated to youth and future generations, gender and civil society, their contributions, the challenges they face, the solutions they offer, and how to mainstream their engagement in planning and implementation of climate policies.

Egypt’s Presidency of COP27 has launched several initiatives that will take place at the conference. These initiatives include COP27 Presidency Sustainable Urban Resilience for the next Generation (SURGe), Initiative on Climate Action and Nutrition (I-CAN),

Action on Water, Adaptation and Resilience (AWARe), Food and Agriculture for Sustainable Transformation Initiative (Fast), Global Waste Initiative 50 by 2050, Africa Just & Affordable Energy Transition Initiative, Decent Life Initiative for a Climate Resilient Africa, Climate Responses for Sustaining Peace (CRSP), African Women’s Climate Adaptive Priorities (CAP), Friends of Greening National Investment Plans, Enhancing Nature-based Solutions for Climate Transformation (ENACT).

The COP27 mobile application serves as an easy-to-use resource with information on the conference. This includes indoor navigation of the venue, event schedules, trip planning and more – making it a go-to guide for all COP27 conference attendees.