On 19 March 2019, Cairo Climate Talks brought together experts from all disciplines to discuss the results of COP24 and the needed action for COP25. Climate negotiators, climate science experts, and policy makers shared their valuable insights and discussed

• how the adopted Paris Rulebook will support the implementation of the Paris Agreement;
• what the key elements of the adopted text are  in  terms  mitigation,  adaptation,  finance  and  transparency  elements; and
• what opportunities Egypt can seize in this regard.

The panel discussion took place at the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) in Cairo, Egypt, was moderated by Ms. Nada El Shanawany (Nature Conservation Egypt) and hosted the panelists:

• Dr. Ahmed Badr, Executive Director of the Regional Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (RCREEE);
• Arne Riedel, Fellow at Ecologic Institute in Berlin and member of the German delegation to the UN climate negotiations;
• Dr. Sherin El Baradie, Assistant Professor at the civil and infrastructure engineering program, Nile University;
• Saber Osman, Manager of Climate Change Adaptation Department at the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA).

In December 2018, world leaders assembled in Katowice for the 24th Conference of the Parties (COP24) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), to come up with operational guidance for the implementation of the Paris Agreement (PA), the so-called rulebook. This contains detailed technical guidance to start the operations under the PA. The Parties to the agreement converged on a common regulatory rulebook to implement and report on their emissions-cutting commitments under the PA. Under  the COP  presidency consultations, Egypt and Germany co-facilitated matters related to climate finance.

The latest special report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) stresses the need to maintain the commitment to the PA’s aims of limiting global warming to 1.5°C, which can be achieved but requires unprecedented  levels of action. Therefore, all Parties must begin work on updating and improving their current Nationally Determined  Contributions (NDCs) for enhanced actions. COP24 chartered a new phase – a deal on implementation of the PA – but there are still some issues left unresolved, for example, international market mechanisms. A next step is also to negotiate these final elements at COP25 in Chile.

The Cairo Climate Talks are a series of events meant to provide a platform to exchange experiences, raise awareness and foster cooperation between policy makers, business and scientists, and civil society. The Cairo Climate Talks are conceived, organized and hosted as a cooperation between the German Embassy in Cairo and the Egyptian Ministry of Environment, with support provided by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (The German Society for International Cooperation, GIZ), and the Egyptian German High Level Joint Committee for Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency and Environmental Protection (JCEE).