90 World Leaders to Attend COP27 in Egypt

Around 90 heads of state will be flying to Egypt for the United Nations’ 27th Climate Change Conference (COP27), set to begin on 6 November and conclude by 18 November.

“We’ve received a large number of confirmations from around the world, I think the last count was about 90 heads of state but the numbers keep coming in,” explained Wael Aboulmagd to Reuters, Egypt’s special representative to the COP27 president, Sameh Shoukry.

Aboulmagd also added that COP27 will produce unconventional opportunities for interaction between world leaders, as Egypt plans to have six different roundtables where heads of state may “actually engage in a discussion on the issue at hand.”

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, along with attending leaders, will be addressing key issues regarding global climate change, such as but not limited to: water and food security, vulnerable communities, green hydrogen development, and transitioning industries to renewable energy.

This year’s conference aims to promote the ambitions and resolve of developing countries in the battle against climate change.

One way Egypt hopes to highlight that intent is through a proposed ‘loss and damage’ compensation plan for climate-vulnerable states that have already suffered from climate change.

This is not the first time compensation was discussed, having already been dismissed by the United States and European Union in Scotland’s COP26 in 2021.

“We strongly believe that we need all the political will and momentum and direction coming from heads of state to push the process forward, because it has become a very, very adversarial process,” Aboulmagd affirmed to Reuters.

The conference, which will take place at Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, sees another consecutive COP event arrive with growing climate change worries.

Subscribe to the Egyptian Streets’ weekly newsletter! Catch up on the latest news, arts & culture headlines, exclusive features and more stories that matter, delivered straight to your inbox by clicking here.