Exclusive : German ambassador’s speech at Cairo Climate Talks

Mr. Julius Georg Luy

It is my pleasure to welcome you to the 45th Cairo Climate Talks panel discussion, the very first in 2017. I wish you and our climate all the best for this year. 2017 is a special year for GER-EGY Science Cooperation, since it marks the 10^th anniversary of the GER-EGY Science Year of 2007

That year paved the way for several bilateral agreements promoting the exchange of students and researchers as well as joint research projects between both our countriesOf course, GER-EGY science cooperation dates back much longer than this and the Embassy is looking forward to another productive GER-EGY science decade!

The CairoClimateTalks as a series of monthly events are a great example of our trustful partnership. They were launched in 2011 by the German Embassy Cairo in close cooperation with the Ministry of Environment and several German organizations, among them the DAAD and the GIZ

Tonight’s CCT focuses on the outcomes of the recent 22^nd session of the Conference of the Parties in Marrakech

The COP’22 is also referred to as the “Action and Implementation” COP as it took place only a few days after the Paris Agreement had entered into force and thus was thought to explore how the agreement could be put into practice. Accordingly, questions of mitigation and adaptation, financing, transparency and capacity building were being discussed

Germany and Egypt both took on an active role at the COP’22. As first country to present a long term strategy, Germany introduced its Climate Action Plan 2050, which was taken with great interest

The Action Plan formulates mission statements for 2050 for systematically decarbonising all key areas – energy, buildings, transport, industry, commerce, trade and services, agriculture, forestry and waste management – and develops milestones and operative measures for the crucial 2030 landmark

Besides, Germany announced the launch of the global NDC Partnership, which had been put forward by our Federal Ministry for the Environment as well as our Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. The global NDC Partnership aims to support developing and industrializing countries financially and through know how with implementing their National Climate Contributions

Egypt for its part successfully launched phase II of the Africa Adaptation Initiative and made important progress in bringing the Africa Renewable Energy Initiative forward. Congratulations!

The Paris Agreement entering into force less than one year after being adopted at the COP’21 highlights the importance given to climate change adaptation and mitigation by country leaders all over the world

To this day, 125 parties of 197 parties to the convention have ratified the agreement. Together they account for more than 80% of the total global greenhouse gas emissions. We are confident that our Egyptian partners follow their ratification process with some emphasis. Like any other international agreement the convention can only be effective if it builds on strong and coherent national climate policies

However, Climate change does not stop at national borders and neither should our actions. In Paris country leaders have shown that they are willing to join forces. In Marrakech they have reaffirmed their commitment notwithstanding the recent developments in the US. Now it is a common responsibility of politics, business and civil society to make sure that the agreement does not remain a mere lip service

Ladies and Gentlemen

Climate change is one of the most severe challenges our world is facing today

The global average temperature has already increased by approximately 1 °C compared with the pre-industrial level.Egypt and the other countries in the region will be among the most affected by global warming. But climate change has entered Germany, too. The number of hot days, with peak daily temperatures of 30 °C or higher, has increased significantly since the 1970s

What might sound normal for most of you here in this room, is indeed a serious development in countries, which haven’t really become used yet to be surrounded by the desert or to sustain extreme heat waves or biblical heavy rain falls and inundations

At tonight’s CCT, political and economic decision makers, policy consultants, scientists and civil society representatives will introduce their ideas for climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies in general and explore possible scenarios for EGY in particular

I am pleased that they are with us tonight and I am looking forward to an informative evening. An evening with vivid and I hope multilayered, engaged discussions about a development which will shape – for a long time even in earth history - basic living conditions of humanity and nature as a whole

Thank you very much