The United States (US) and Egypt today established a joint working group to prepare for this year's United Nations (UN) summit in Egypt on climate change, as a US envoy visited Cairo and called for sharp cuts in carbon dioxide emissions by 2030.
US President's special climate envoy John Kerry said the working group is focused on preparing for the UN COP27 summit in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh in November and that Egypt, which is to chair the summit, has already started preparations and set ambitious goals.
Kerry said that other world tensions, including the crisis in Ukraine, will not change the reality of what is happening every day with the climate, that it is an international threat to everyone.
"There is no ideology in this. It has nothing to do with any of the issues being considered by the US administration," Kerry said at a news conference in Cairo where he met with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry. Officials did not respond to reporters' questions.
Kerry, who also met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, spoke about the conflicts in the Middle East and the human rights situation in Egypt, which has drawn criticism from the US and other Western governments.
Shukri said they discussed the priorities and goals of the UN COP27 summit as well as the means that will be available to developing countries to implement the 2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
Kerry spoke today at the American University in Cairo about the future of international climate action ahead of COP27 and called for a concerted effort to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by at least 45 percent by 2030, in order to reach a "pollution-free planet" by mid-century. .
He said the common goal was to implement all the pledges made at last year's UN climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, where nearly 200 countries accepted a compromise agreement that outside experts said showed progress but not success.
That agreement did not reflect any of the three UN goals: pledges to cut global carbon dioxide emissions by about half, $100 billion in annual climate aid from rich countries to poor countries, with half of that going to developing countries.
"Our goal this year, in addition to fulfilling all the promises made in Glasgow, is to involve more countries in the fight so that global warming does not exceed 1,5 degrees Celsius," he said.
It was the most ambitious goal of the 2015 Paris Agreement, as the planet has already warmed 1,1 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial times.
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