Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, Chairman of the 27th Session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27), participated in the Copenhagen Ministerial Climate Meeting, held in the Danish capital, Copenhagen, on March 20-21 as the first political high-level meeting following up on the 2022 UN climate conference (COP27).

The Copenhagen Climate Ministerial Meeting is co-chaired by Egypt, the current president of COP27, along with the UAE, the president of the upcoming climate Summit (COP28).

The Copenhagen meeting is held this year under the title “Leading Climate Action, Implementation and Progress".

The ministerial meeting, attended by more than 40 government ministers, is the first climate ministerial meeting leading up to COP28.

It aims to lay the path to a successful COP28 delivering on the Paris agreement targets and the COP27 conclusions.

The ministerial meeting will tackle the main issues of adaptation, finance, mitigation and loss and damage through a threefold agenda that addresses: Implementing the Sharm el-Sheikh Implementation Plan (SHIP) and building on Cop27 outcomes, commitments and pledges, setting the course for a successful COP28 in the UAE, and cementing Paris Agreements targets through the first Global Stocktake exercise.

Minister Shoukry's visit to Copenhagen comes within the framework of strengthening the Egyptian-Danish relations at the bilateral level, where Minister Shoukry is scheduled to meet with the Crown Prince of Denmark. He will also hold meetings with the Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Secretary General of the Nordic Council of Ministers, and representatives of the Maersk Group for International Maritime Transport to discuss various files between the two countries and the promotion of economic cooperation, especially attracting more Danish investments to Egypt.

Activities

20/03/2023

The first day of the Copenhagen Climate Ministerial Meeting in Denmark

Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, the President-Designate of the latest UN Climate Change Conference COP27, delivered a speech at the opening session of the meeting, in which he praised the Copenhagen meeting as an important platform for promoting international climate action through its constructive discussions and talks among all actors concerned with climate action.

Shoukry highlighted the cooperation among Egypt, Denmark and the UAE over the past period in preparing for this meeting in a way that promotes climate action at various levels.

He talked about key outcomes of the COP27 climate change summit that was held in Egypt’s Red Sea resort city of Sharm El-Sheikh in November 2022.

He asserted the importance of intensifying efforts by the parties concerned with climate action to promote consensus and achieve further progress in fulfilling climate action goals; in a way that contributes to maintaining successful preparation for the upcoming COP28 climate change conference.

Shoukry's series of meetings on the sidelines of the first-day activities of Copenhagen Ministerial Meeting on Climate Change

Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met with UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Executive Secretary Simon Stiell on the sidelines of Copenhagen Ministerial Meeting on Climate Change.

During the meeting, Shoukry lauded the support of the UNFCCC secretariat to the Egyptian presidency of the 2022 UN climate change conference (COP27), which was held in Sharm el Sheikh last November.

The meeting tackled means of implementing the outcomes of Sharm el Shiekh conference within the framework of preparing for COP28 which is set to be hosted by the UAE this year, especially in relation to fulfilling the pledges on mobilizing finance for climate action and activating the agreements reached during COP27 to establish a fund to finance the efforts of handling loss and damage resulting from climate change. 

Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, president of COP27, held a meeting with Danish Minister for Development Cooperation and Global Climate Policy Dan Jørgensen and COP28 President-Designate Sultan Al-Jaber.

Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met with British Minister of State for Energy Security Graham Stuart within the framework of assessing the current situation as regards fulfilling global climate pledges and following up on progress in implementing the outcomes of the 2022 UN climate conference, COP27.

The second and final day of the Copenhagen Climate Ministerial Meeting in Denmark

Egyptian Foreign Minister and President of the 27th session of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) Sameh Shoukry chaired a session on the loss and damage resulting from climate change, where he said the COP27 agenda witnessed for the first time the inclusion of an item on loss and damage.

He noted that the COP27 had succeeded in reaching a historic agreement to establish a fund for assisting the developing countries with addressing the losses and damage of climate change.

Shoukry underlined the importance of building on what was agreed upon in the climate conference in Sharm El-Sheikh regarding the issue of losses and damage, adding the COP28 in the UAE this year is due to consider the mechanisms for activating the loss and damage fund.

The foreign minister also presided over a session on the global assessment of Paris Agreement on climate change, which is scheduled to be approved at the COP28 in the UAE.

Shoukry explained this assessment represents an important opportunity to follow up on the progress made in international climate action.

The foreign minister highlighted the key role played by civil society organizations along with the States Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in advancing the international climate action to reach the desired results.

Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and his Danish counterpart Lars Løkke Rasmussen held a session of talks.

The two sides reviewed bilateral relations, ways to improve them, as well as a raft of regional and international issues of mutual concern, especially the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, the recent developments in the Middle East, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Shoukry hailed Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen's first official visit to Egypt on March 13-14, which coincided with the 65th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between Egypt and Denmark.

He also commended Frederiksen's fruitful talks with President Abdel Fattah El Sisi during the visit.

Shoukry also applauded ongoing Danish projects in Egypt, especially those aimed at turning the country to a regional hub for Danish companies interested in container trade and clean maritime energy.

The top diplomats concluded their talks by agreeing on the importance of working for bolstering cooperation and maintaining coordination and consultations on issues of mutual interest.

Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met with Secretary General of the Nordic Council of Ministers Karen Ellemann

At the outset of the meeting, Shoukry greeted Ellemann on assuming her new post in January.

He said Egypt is looking forward to enhancing cooperation with the Nordic Council countries to explore opportunities for exchanging expertise and draw on their success stories, citing the successful example of trilateral cooperation mechanisms among Egypt, Greece and Cyprus along with the Visegrád Group.

The meeting took up a number of issues pertaining to climate and environment protection, reviewing Egypt's efforts and initiatives in this regard.

For her part, Ellemann was keen on listening to an assessment on the review presented by the Egyptian top diplomat on the Copenhagen ministerial meeting on climate. She also praised Egypt's efforts during the UN Climate Summit (COP27) especially the agreement on establishing a fund for climate damage and losses along with a plan of action on mitigating climate change impact.

She also asserted the deep interest in enhancing cooperation between the Nordic region countries and Egypt which she viewed as a vital partner in the Middle East region.

Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry participated in a joint press conference held at the conclusion of the Copenhagen Climate Ministerial Meeting, along with UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Executive Secretary Simon Stiell and Danish Minister for Development Cooperation and Global Climate Policy Dan Jørgensen

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said humans have an opportunity to survive the primary threats of climate change.

He called for implementing recommendations of the latest UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) held in Sharm El-Sheikh, which involved calls for climate actions that include support and cooperation between the civil society and governments.

Shoukry added that he, in his capacity as President-Designate of COP27, will be keen that all parties concerned with climate action work together.

He noted that the Upper Egyptian governorate of Luxor will host a conference this year to assess the loss and damage caused by climate change as well as to discuss the outcomes of COP27.

The foreign minister stressed that there is still a lot of climate-related work to be done ahead of the upcoming COP28 climate change summit, set to be held in the UAE.

He concluded that the Copenhagen Climate Ministerial will pave the way for further cooperation and understanding in dealing with the climate challenges faced by humans.