Egypt's Acting Minister of Environment Manal Awad emphasized the need for science-based climate policies during a coordination meeting on Tuesday. The country is progressing with its National Adaptation Plan, supported by the Green Climate Fund and UNDP. This initiative aims to integrate adaptation measures into national frameworks.
On Tuesday, Egypt's Acting Minister of Environment, Manal Awad, addressed a coordination meeting with national research centers focused on climate risk assessments as part of the National Adaptation Plan (NAP). Held alongside an introductory workshop for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the gathering underscored the transition from identifying climate risks to implementing practical solutions. Awad stated, “there can be no effective climate policy without a solid scientific foundation,” highlighting the plan's foundation in comprehensive assessments of impacts across key sectors.
The NAP seeks to weave climate adaptation into Egypt's broader planning and development policies. Research institutions play a pivotal role, generating evidence-based reports aligned with IPCC standards, creating risk maps for decision-makers, and crafting adaptation strategies tailored to vulnerable communities. The Ministry of Environment is pledged to support data sharing and institutional backing for researchers, with project results intended to attract international climate financing and develop viable green projects.
UNDP Resident Representative Chitose Noguchi affirmed the collaborative effort to bolster scientific underpinnings for Egypt's strategies, noting UNDP-backed pilots that extended nature-based protections along 69 kilometers of the Nile Delta coast. Sherif Abdel Rahim, head of the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency, called for ongoing funding to build an interactive risk mapping tool forecasting threats to 2100.
UNDP officials stressed that finishing sectoral assessments by May is vital for completing the NAP and gaining approvals by year's end. Attendees concurred that tight collaboration between ministries and researchers will turn the plan into an actionable guide, potentially serving as a template for other developing nations.