Ecologic Institute at the 40th Cairo Climate Talks in Egypt

The 40th Cairo Climate Talks, titled "Putting Paris into Effect: Climate Change Action in Africa" brought together decision-makers as well as representatives from business, academia and civil society. Ecologic Institute's Lena Donat provided the European perspective on the outcome of the Paris climate summit and the future negotiation process.

In December 2015, the global community adopted a new climate treaty in Paris. The agreement establishes obligations for all Parties to regularly present their national climate plans. The objective is to keep global temperature rise below 2°C, or even 1.5°C, to increase the adaptive capacity of countries to the impacts of climate change, and to redirect financial flows to low-carbon investment.

In the past, only a small portion of global greenhouse gas emissions has been attributed to African states. However, emission trends for Africa are rising and Africa is highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Africa also has huge potentials for renewable energy and other mitigation measures. What does the new Paris Agreement imply for African States? What challenges and opportunities arise? And how does Egypt prepare for the implementation of the Agreement?

The Cairo Climate Talks addressed these questions in three different events. At a panel discussion attended by around 100 people, Lena Donat took the stage alongside Mohamed Khalil, Head of the Environment Section at the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mariam Allam, National Coordinator of the Arab Youth Climate Movement (AYCM) and Dr. Sibylle Röhrkasten of IASS Potsdam. The panelists discussed the outcome of the Paris climate summit and the future of renewable energy on the continent.

Lena Donat also presented her views at a workshop with Egyptian experts. The third event was a Capacity Building Workshop at the German Embassy to inform German and European institu-tions based in Cairo on the international climate negotiations.

The Cairo Climate Talks are a series of events meant to provide a platform to exchange experiences, raise awareness and foster cooperation between policy makers, business people, scientists and civil society. The Cairo Climate Talks are conceived, organized and hosted in cooperation between the German Embassy in Cairo, the Egyptian Ministry of Environment, the German Science Center (DWZ), the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).

The report of the panel discussion is available at the website of the Cairo Climate Talks.