UPDATE - UN climate summit opens in Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh

UPDATES WITH STATEMENTS BY EXECUTIVE SECRETARY OF UN CLIMATE CHANGE AND EGYPTIAN PRESIDENT

By Halime Afra Aksoy and Gulsen Topcu

SHARM EL SHEIKH, Egypt (AA) – The UN climate summit kicked off Sunday in Egypt’s Red Sea resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh.

Taking place from Nov. 6-18, more than 40,000 participants have been registered for the 27th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27) to discuss ways to lessen the negative impacts of climate change and adapting to its repercussions.

British COP26 President Alok Sharma handed over the presidency of the COP27 to Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry.

“This conference must be about concrete action,” Sharma said. “We need to accelerate that progress in the remainder of this decisive decade.”

Shoukry, for his part, highlighted the climate incidents that have impacted several areas worldwide, most recently in the floods in Pakistan as well as African and European countries.

“The world does not have the luxury of continuing the approach of polarizing efforts to combat climate change,” he said. "The current climate situation calls for urgent international action.”

Speaking at the summit, Simon Stiell, the executive secretary of UN Climate Change, stressed the fight against climate change should not be an individual effort.

"Implementing the agreed issues on climate change is everyone's responsibility. Authorities all around the world must do their best on the issue of climate change," he said.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi shared a message on his social media account to stress the significance of this year’s summit.

"Climate summit comes at a delicate time when the very existence of the planet and our ability to live on this planet are exposed to dangers and unique challenges,” Sisi said.

“These dangers and challenges require all countries to act swiftly to come up with a roadmap that will save the planet and protect it from the effects of climate change," the Egyptian leader added.

*Ikram Imane Kouachi and Zehra Nur Duz contributed to this report.