In Sharm el-Sheikh, on the Red Sea, representatives from nearly 200 countries will spend two weeks discussing how to combat global warming.
Dozens of heads of state and government gathered at the world climate conference in Egypt to discuss next steps in the fight against the climate crisis. French President Emmanuel Macron, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and UAE President Mohammed bin Sajid, among others, arrived in Sharm el-Sheikh on Monday. After a group photo, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi opened the summit segment of the two-week conference with a speech.
“There are great expectations of good results,” said Al-Sisi. “Millions of people around the planet are watching us.” The consequences of climate-related weather events have never been as devastating as they are today. “We’ve seen one disaster after another. Once we deal with one disaster, another one comes – wave after wave.” The land has turned into a “world of suffering”, Al-Sisi said.
The Egyptian president, who works closely with Russia in the military and energy fields, among other things, called for an end to the “war between Russia and Ukraine”. The war must stop, Al-Sisi said – without directly blaming Russia for the attack.
Representatives from 200 countries meet
Speeches by German President Alexander Van der Bellen, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, new British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif are expected on Monday and Tuesday. US President Joe Biden wants to attend the UN conference on Friday. Parallel talks are also planned on Monday and Tuesday, the so-called round tables, on topics such as water and food security or green hydrogen. A total of around 110 heads of state and government are expected.
About 45,000 participants are registered for the conference, most of them as state delegates. In Sharm el-Sheikh, on the Red Sea, representatives from nearly 200 countries will spend two weeks discussing how the fight against global warming can be stepped up. The new president of COP27, Samih Schukri, warned that all climate protection measures must be taken on a common basis.
(APA/dpa)