Sweden's Chief Climate Negotiator Matthias Frumerie and Secretariat for the Stockholm+50 climate conference Johanna Lissinger, visited Egypt last week to discuss possible cooperation opportunities during the upcoming United Nations' Conference of Parties on Climate Change (COP 27). During a briefing to journalists, Frumerie said that "Sweden welcomes Egypt's generous offer to host the COP 27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, which is a solid proof of Egypt's commitment to multilateral diplomacy and the implementation of the Paris Agreement as well as the Rio Conventions." "Sweden looks forward to supporting Egypt in its role as president of the conference. We enjoy excellent long-standing bilateral relations and we share a common goal of ensuring that the world jointly limits the rise in temperature to 1.5°C as well as building societies resilient to climate change and averting environmental risks," he added. The Swedish government set up the Fossil Free Sweden Initiative in 2015, where local, regional, and business actors worked together to develop a roadmap for fossil-free competitiveness. The plan includes projects to achieve green transformation in the steel, cement, and mobility sectors. Sweden's ambition is to become the first fossil-free welfare state by 2045. "The Swedish government will be hosting the Stockholm+50 Conference from 2-3 June, and we are keen that this conference serves as a bridge between the COP 26 and COP 27. Stockholm+50 is about our life and wellbeing on the planet and the building blocks for the fair, green, and sustainable future we want to see," said Lissinger. "Egypt is cooperating closely with Sweden and will co-host the leadership dialogue about implementing the environmental dimension of sustainable development." Moreover, Swedish Ambassador to Egypt Håkan Emsgård said that "climate change is affecting the whole world and the MENA region in particular; some countries can have excessive heat waves reaching 55°C; putting the region in a vulnerable position to extreme weather events." "The upcoming Stockholm+50 Summit and the COP 27 in Egypt are great opportunities for us to come together to think of ways to mitigate the consequences of climate change." The Swedish government has doubled its annual contribution to global climate financing to SEK 15bn to encourage other countries to ramp up their climate-related activities ahead of the COP 27 in November 2022. During the visit, the delegation met with Ali Abu Sinna, the Deputy Minister of Environment and Head of the Environmental Affairs Authority; Mohamed Nasr, the Director of the Department of Environment and Sustainable Development Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; in addition to representatives from the Cairo International Centre for Conflict Resolution, Peacekeeping, and Peacebuilding (CCCPA), the Swedish business community, and representatives from civil society organisations in Egypt.
