President of NCW, Dr. Maya Morsi took part in the meeting organized on Monday, Jan. 16, by the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt under the title “Women and the COP27 Climate Conference: Initiatives, Opportunities, and Challenges”, joined by members of the Chamber.
Dr. Morsi affirmed the COP27 as an extremely important global event that Egypt successfully led last year. She commended the country’s success to present Egypt’s vision to the world in an honorable way that dazzled the whole world.
She also noted that the effects of climate change are a dangerous warning for our generations and future generations. Morsi indicated that its threats are not gender neutral but rather more harmful to women compared to men, particularly in areas of agricultural production, food and nutrition security, health, water and energy, climate-related disasters, migration, and conflicts.
Since women are affected more, they should take the lead. Morsi explained that women are not just helpless victims in the face of climate change but rather powerful agents of change, and their leadership is crucial.
She added that if the impact of climate change on women is not addressed, gender equality and women’s empowerment worldwide in 2030 will return to what they were in 2010, which represents the real danger.
Additionally, Dr. Morsi emphasized that in light of the strong political will, women’s empowerment is the cornerstone of a fair green environmental transition in Egypt’s national strategy for sustainable development and climate change. All of which are based on comprehensive climate action governance, policy-making, and community participation.
She highlighted the two presidential programs from the huge development programs in its history, namely the “Decent Life” program, the largest development program in Egypt and the world, in terms of funding and goals, where women and their needs are considered among the basic pillars. It also takes into account environmental dimensions and sustainability standards and targets 58 M citizens; 50% of them are women.
On the other hand, the “National Project for the Development of the Egyptian Family” aims to improve demographic characteristics and quality of life of families in more than 20 governorates, and thus more resilient societies at the local level in Egypt.
Morsi indicated that the initiative of the President to support the health of Egyptian women has reached more than 23 million women. Egypt also launched the “National Initiative for Smart Green Projects” in all governorates of Egypt, with a dedicated axis for women, as it is a catalyst for all projects that provide innovative local solutions to climate change.
More than 1,000 projects were presented to the women’s category as part of the initiative, noting that the initiative will continue in the coming years and within the framework of investing in girls as leaders for the future. The national program “Noura” program was launched, which aims to empower girls.
She also referred to the presidential initiative “African Women and Climate Change Adaptation” (AWCAP), which is being implemented in partnership with UN-Women as a global partner on the part of the United Nations system as a whole. More than 9 member states have expressed interest in joining this initiative, as well as Some African civil society organizations such as Karama and FEMNET, as well as the private sector such as (Rawiya Mansour) who leads the entrepreneurs’ initiative for zero waste eco-villages and Microsoft Egypt.
