Egypt's Minister of Environment Khaled Fahmy has held discussions on environmental issues with the Japanese ambassador in Egypt, Takahiro Kajawa, seeking to identify further areas for cooperation between the two nations. The two sides discussed the Egyptian role at the World Climate Summit negotiations and the launch of the renewable energy initiative in Africa, and the role of international funders to support the initiative. The initiative will be carried out in two phases, the first of which will result in the production of 10 GW from 2016 to 2020, while the second phase targets 300 GW. The Japanese ambassador said that his government is keen to work with Egypt to address climate change and reduce harmful emissions. Meanwhile, the Egyptian minister announced that Canada will support the initiative with funding of $150m. Fahmy added, in a conference on Monday organised by the French presidency, that the initiative aims to attract financial resources in the field of renewable energy as a response to climate change mechanisms. In a meeting with African leaders on the sidelines of the World Climate Summit (COP21), French President Francois Hollande said last week that his country would invest €2bn by 2020 in renewable energy projects in Africa to increase the continent's access to electricity. The Egyptian president said that this initiative is the only one that links the increased rates of development with international efforts to address the phenomenon of climate change. He urged the international community, particularly developed countries and regional and international organisations, to provide full support to this initiative in terms of financing and transfer of technology and human capacity-building.
