Sisi: Arab region most vulnerable to climate change

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi participated on Tuesday in the opening session of the ‘UN Climate Summit 2014’ as well as the plenary session that included reviewing national actions to combat climate change.
President Sisi delivered a speech before the summit on behalf of the Arab group, presidential spokesman Ambassador Alaa Youssef said in a statement.
The president started his speech by thanking the UN Secretary General for organizing this summit, noting the need to adopt rational consumption and sustainable production patterns to adapt to climate change and mitigate its effects.
"The Arab region is one of the most vulnerable regions worldwide to climate change due to its geographic location in a dry and arid region," said the president.
He noted the negative impacts of the climate change that hinders development, which requires upholding the principles of equity and shared responsibility to confront them.
He also highlighted the energy problems facing Arab and African countries, calling on developed countries, financial institutions and the private sector to invest in new and renewable energy projects that are eco-friendly.
The Egyptian leader gave special attention to the problem of desertification, stressing the need for technical and financial cooperation with donor and developed countries in the field of forest plantations to overcome this phenomenon.
He affirmed that any new legal framework should not be a substitute for the Convention on Climate Change and its principles, namely justice, equity, shared responsibility and burden sharing as well as its basic elements; adaptation, mitigation, financing, technology transfer and capacity building.
The President also stressed the importance of activating the Green Climate Fund (GCF).