What Does COP26 Mean for Communities? Greenish Answers and Looks Ahead to COP27
We more often than not feel the weather around us change drastically from one week to another, and reminisce about the days when summer’s heat was more tolerable and Egypt’s autumn chilly rather than hot. You might wonder what changed over the past few years. Well, the climate changed, and it’s causing damage not only to the weather in Egypt but also to our crop yields, food security, water resources, and public health among many adverse effects. So what does the world have to say and do about that change of climate?
Early November 2021 at the Glasgow Central Station, it only takes a visitor an instant to notice how busy the city is. That’s because, from 31 October to 12 November, the Scottish city hosted politicians, civil society organizations and environmental activists from around the globe for the UN’s 26th edition of the ‘Conference of the Parties’ (COP). For almost 30 years the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has gathered most countries in an aim to set direction for the fight against climate change. A key task for the conference is to review the national effective efforts and emission status submitted by countries included in the convention. Among the attendees was Shady Khalil, co-founder of Greenish, who participated for the first time at COP26 as an observer. Greenish is an Egyptian social enterprise founded in 2017 to raise awareness about the environmental issues facing Egyptian local communities through capacity building and education.
Khalil, representing the Greenish community in Glasgow, met and interviewed inspiring environmental professionals and policy makers representing the MENA region as well as the rest of the African continent. They explained in their interviews the importance of COP to the public and to entities interested in environmental sustainability in Egypt, especially since the next edition, COP27, will come to Egypt. Dr Amr Osama, advisor to the Egyptian minister of environment on climate change, reflected on the upcoming event in his interview with Khalil.
“The fact that Egypt is hosting COP27 will help us achieve parts of our vision for climate change, and of course, it will be a display of how Egypt is interested in climate change projects,” he explained.
An example of the events that took place at COP26. Here, Choosing Green presents its vision for the future. Photograph: Shady Khalil
Attendees also expressed their pleasure at seeing Egypt hosting the next COP. As an African country, it is more accessible to African changemakers than the UK or Europe have been due to logistical reasons.
Based on the observation of the activities in COP26 and in preparation for COP27, it is evident that many local entities in Egypt are keen on being part of the climate action and actively participating in the narratives and negotiations at COP. At the same time, given that the topic of climate change is relatively new for most of the Egyptian communities, many local entities lack either the required skills or the knowledge necessary to contribute effectively at such a conference. This is why Greenish is currently calling upon environmental partners and workforce to collaborate on Greenish’s ‘Road to COP27.’ This project is designed to raise awareness on COP and to build capacities of the local entities so that they can have a substantial and effective presence in next year’s conference in Egypt as well as the following one in the UAE. Nisreen Elsaim, chair of the UN Secretary-General’s Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change, highlighted the new generation’s role in shaping their future.
“We as youth have a vision for the future, but we require the space to achieve [it]. And because young people have a real impact, we need them to have the opportunity to communicate with negotiators in the negotiating rooms [at COP], and at the same time facilitate their communication with people on the street in order to have influence from all sides.”
Given that one of Greenish’s core principles is to provide access to the different sects of the community, we wish through this project to provide a space for the local communities to advocate for their visions and find the proper channels to achieve them.
Why is it important to understand more about COP and how it can affect us as citizens or professionals? I’m glad you asked. One of the widely known results of COP is the Paris Agreement that was signed in 2015. It sets out a global framework to avoid dangerous climate change by limiting global warming to well below 2°C and pursuing efforts to limit it to 1.5°C. Along with the fifteen-year plan for achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs), this agreement has created momentum for many low carbon policies and directed global investments towards alternatives to the current models of production and consumption that have negatively impacted our environment. They also have inspired Egypt’s ‘Sustainable Development Strategy’ (SDS) for 2030 and the ‘Live Green’ initiative launched by the Ministry of Environment. One such example is the Benban Solar Project in Aswan, bent on sustainable sources of energy, and the general direction to normalise environmental education in schools and universities.
Community Action at COP26. Photograph: Shady Khalil
These really are exciting times for anyone, especially Egyptians, interested in understanding climate action given the many ambitious plans and strategies being designed. However, on a global scale, nearly all governments are behind in achieving the objectives for the Paris Agreement and the SDGs that could have mitigated this crisis in the first place. The question remains whether these strategies and plans will eventually translate into effective and sustainable actions.
But this burden should not be carried by governments alone. Every entity has a role to play, be they civil society, social enterprises, educational institutions, or big corporations. Taking the lead to complement these national strategies through bottom-up community action, we could promote their success along with the sustainability of our collective climate action. Maybe just then, our summers and winters will return to us as they once were.
by Marwan Rasmy, Greenish Content & Development Director