Minister for Environmental Affairs Khaled Fahmy and Egyptian ambassador to Germany Mohamed Hegazy attended the Petersburg Climate Dialogue in Berlin on Monday and Tuesday. They met with representatives from 35 other countries to discuss international climate policies in the short and long term in preparation for the United Nations Conference on Climate to be held in Warsaw in December of this year. In his address to the delegates, Fahmy stressed Egypt's need to obtain expertise and financial resources to encourage its citizens and businessmen to adopt more environmentally-friendly policies and rely on sources of renewable energy. He drew attention to Egypt's strategic decision to lift its fuel subsidies starting next July, taking into account its delicate economic situation. He also announced plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the coming years, though he reiterated Egypt's need for technical assistance in this endeavor. Fahmy met with German Minister of the Environment Peter Altmire who expressed his country's readiness to support Egypt in developing their environmental policies and projects, along with their general democratic transition. The Egyptian minister welcomed German cooperation in building Egypt's institutional capacity to address global warming and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as well as increasing the protection of migratory birds. He also welcomed their assistance in developing training programmes for increasing environmental awareness. Germany and Egypt already have strong cooperative environmental programmes in place, one of which is a €51m programme for solid waste management that aims to raise recycling rates and develop alternate solutions for waste management.
