Must Know about COP
In November, Egypt hosts the twenty-seventh Conference of Parties (COP 27) in Sharm El-Sheikh. In light of this and our coverage of this international mega event, believing in the importance of community awareness, we start with the most important definitions: What is COP? The Conference of Parties is the decision-making body responsible for monitoring and reviewing the implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Who are the parties? They are the 197 countries and territories that have signed the framework agreement, including Egypt. When is the conference held and what are its most important achievements? COP has been held annually since its first edition in 1995. Perhaps its most important achievement is the unification of countries in the first international climate agreement to reduce the risks of climate change. Kyoto Protocol: About Kyoto Protocol Date: 1997 Number of signatories: 195 countries Goals: to reduce the emission of 6 specific gases: carbon dioxide, methane, nitrogen oxide, in addition to three fluorescent compounds, by 5.2%, compared to 1990. Role: It places the responsibility for implementing the brunt of the commitments on the shoulders of the developed countries, as the protocol obligates them to provide all forms of financial and technical support to help developing countries implement the obligations arising from common international policies to protect the environment from pollution. Paris Agreement The Paris Climate Agreement is an output of the COP 21 held in the French Capital in 2015. Based on the Kyoto Protocol, it was effectuated in November 2016. About The Paris Agreement: Date: December 2015 Number of signatories: 194 Objectives: – Addressing the problem of greenhouse gas emissions and finding ways to adapt to it – Paying serious attention to the effects of climate change – Limiting temperature rise to less than two degrees Celsius Most important terms: – Reducing the intensity of greenhouse gas emissions by reducing energy consumption, investing in clean energies and reforestation. – Strengthening efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius Role: The agreement commits rich countries to provide 100 billion USD annually starting in 2020 to developing countries for helping them finance renewable energies. What is IPPC? Conventional energy vs Renewable energy In light of the global energy crisis, rising prices and the planet’s suffering from climate change, attention is turning towards renewable energy. Is clean energy the world’s only hope for a better future?To answer this question, we will review the most important benefits of each of the two energies and their limitations.
Will the Egyptian Peasants Farm Manhattan? Case-Study of Al-Warraq Island (2017-2022)
This article discusses the development-based evictions and displacement in Egypt, Al-warraq island as an example. Al-warraq is an agricultural Nile island in Giza with more than 100,000 inhabitants. It was classified as a natural reserve by the prime minister’s decree in 1998 which was abandoned following presidential instructions in July 2017. Since then, the government has been trying to forcefully evict Al-warraq island inhabitants in order to implement a new urban plan “Horus city”. The Horus design aspires to attract businesses and investments with its own helipad, seven stars hotels, riverboats marina and commercial and entertainment centers. In this article, we introduce a brief background on the legal dispute between the inhabitants on one hand and the state on the other hand, beginning with earlier failed attempts for eviction during Mubarak’s era until the unfortunate incidents of the conflict. Then, we articulate the inhabitants’ claims who lost the chances of outsiders’ solidarity amidst a hostile situation in Egypt preventing citizens from their legitimate rights to assemble and demonstrate. The affected populations had to face structural violence from different formal authorities on their own. Finally, we monitor a wide variety of human rights violations committed against the civil citizens who were defending their guaranteed rights in institutional, national and international laws. These violations include: abduction, arbitrary arrests and detentions, the right to adequate housing, the right to property, the right to work, the right to food and the rights of peasants as collective rights, besides imposing blockade on the entries and exits of the island by the police and depriving people from some critical public services by the local government such as medical care. To read the research in Arabic: هل تُصدِّق أن يزرع الفلاح المصري مانهاتن؟ Source of the cover photo: The farmer: Mosa’ab Elshamy/AP – The horus city: Egypt’s Projects Map.