Cyprus President, Nicos Anastasiades, hosted on Tuesday a side event for Cyprus’ Climate Change Initiative in the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East (EMME), held on the sidelines of COP27 which takes place in Sharm el Sheikh, in Egypt.
The sideline event was also co-hosted by President of Egypt, Abdel Fatah al Sisi, and was attended by heads of state or government and other high ranking government officials and organisation representatives.
According to a Presidency press release, addressing the event, President Anastasiades said among other things, that “our countries are already suffering from common worrying phenomena, such as: record high temperatures and protracted heat waves, devastating fires and deforestation, increased water scarcity, droughts, floods and extreme weather phenomena.”
He added that “in 2018, responding to the urgent call of the international scientific community, which has now been joined by our peoples, we recognised the need to immediately act and effectively address, or mitigate to the extent possible, these catastrophic phenomena.”
“Over 240 scientists, mainly from the countries of our region, responded to this call and prepared relevant thematic reports on issues such as Agriculture and Food, Education, Health, Technology, Migration, Energy, Tourism, Health, Cultural Heritage and, of course, Water,” the President noted.
He also said that through the scientific work that is available to us now, beyond gaining a better understanding of the situation and how the crisis will unfold in the near future, we are also far more well-informed on which actions to implement.
“And now, through the Political Declaration to be adopted in a while, we are fully – equipped to proceed with the implementation of the relevant Action Plan, which sets out specific policies and projects that will have practical, achievable and enduring benefits to our citizens,” the President noted.
He said that “through the implementation of the said Action Plan which emphasises on transboundary actions, we hope and expect that our countries will succeed in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and our carbon footprint, adhering to the Paris Agreement, adapt to some of the unfortunately unavoidable climate change impact, establish the necessary mechanisms for more resilient and competitive economies by switching to renewable and cleaner energy, obtain access to appropriate climate change financial instruments and mechanisms, provide incentives to our businesses and industries so as to adapt and shift to sustainable and green technologies in order to increase their competitiveness in the global markets, and create new green employment opportunities.”
“The signing of the Political Declaration by the countries of the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East, will mark the official launch of the Initiative undertaken by Cyprus and constitutes a historical milestone for the resilience and prosperity in Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East,” the President said.
He noted that this is a historic milestone “which fits perfectly in our collective vision, which is none other than to look to the future with optimism and to use common challenges as an opportunity to proudly demonstrate what our countries can achieve when they join forces by cooperating and acting together.”
The President expressed his sincere congratulations to the President and the Government of Egypt for hosting COP27 and warmly thanked and extended his sincere gratitude to the President of Egypt, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, “who, through his personal interest and efforts, made it possible to hold today’s event as part of the COP27 deliberations.”
The fact that Egypt undertook to organise such an important international event which receives the attention of the entire World, constitutes a yet again tangible proof of the leadership characteristics and the widespread respect and appreciation that President Sisi and Egypt enjoy by the international community and the United Nations Secretariat, the President of Cyprus said.
On his part, the President of Egypt, speaking through an interpreter said, among other things, that Egypt was very eager to participate in this initiative, adding that our region is a climate change hot spot with consequences at all levels. He also pointed out that we all witness extreme weather phenomena.
Moreover, he noted that the initiative is a major global mechanism when it comes to actions to deal with the impact of climate change.
He noted the importance of such initiatives, pointing out that the scientific component this initiative it includes is indispensable.
Concluding he said that he looks forward to learning more about the initiative and the actions it includes, noting the common interests and collaboration between Cyprus and Egypt.
President of Iraq Abdul Latif Rashid, Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of Jordan Bisher al Khasawneh, Prime Minister of the State of Palestine Mohammad Shtayyah, Minister of Environmental Protection of Israel Tamar Zandberg, Secretary General of WMO Professor Petteri Talas, Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean Nasser Kamel, President of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (UN SDSN) Jeffrey Sachs, Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Cooperation for Europe Olga Algayerova, COP 26 Regional Ambassador for the Middle East and Africa Janet Rogan and Deputy Director General of FAO Maria Helena Semedo also addressed the event.
Cyprus Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment Costas Kadis, and Presidential Envoy of Cyprus on Climate Change Dr. Costas Pananicolas made presentations of the Cyprus Initiative, and the policies and actions of the Republic, respectively.
In his closing remarks the President of the Republic said that “today’s Summit and the Declaration of the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East Climate Change Initiative constitute a historic milestone.”
“Through the guidance of my Minister of Agriculture and Environment, Costas Kadis, and of my advisor and Special Envoy on Climate Change, Dr. Costas Papanicolas, we joined forces and through the work of renowned scientists, to whom we are immensely thankful, we delivered a regional climate action plan,” he noted.
Moreover, he said that today’s Summit and Declaration mark the common effort to turn the plan into concrete policies and projects.
“As leaders of our countries we are obliged to guide and lead our peoples into progress through difficult paths and challenging times,” he added, noting that “today’s Summit and the Sharm el-Sheikh Declaration of the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East Climate Change Initiative, are such an act of leadership.”
“At the same time, we are called to listen to our scientists and our youth and the most vulnerable. And today’s Summit and Declaration are also the result of listening and responding to the call for responsible actions towards this existential danger. In parallel, as national leaders we also each have a particular responsibility towards our nations and societies. At the same time, in an interconnected world and region, we have a collective responsibility, especially when dealing with global challenges that transcend boundaries,” the President said.
The event was also attended by the Prime Minister of the Holy See Pietro Parolin, Ministers and government representatives from Oman, Lebanon, Bahrain, as well as representatives of international organisations.
Source: Cyprus News Agency