CAIRO: Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry has expressed confidence in the leadership of Dr. Sultan Al-Jaber, president of the UN Climate Change Conference, in promoting the climate action agenda and achieving common goals. He added that last year’s COP27 Conference in Sharm El-Sheikh opened the way for a new era of implementation in the fight against climate change. Shoukry made his comments at COP28’s opening session in Dubai on Thursday. He delivered his speech as COP27 president as he handed over Egypt’s conference presidency to the UAE. Shoukry expressed his gratitude to the state parties, observers, and civil society for their support during his term as the president of COP27. He acknowledged their assistance during the preparatory stages, the Sharm El-Sheikh conference, and in the following year. Despite the challenging international context due to COVID-19 and the conflict in Ukraine, Shoukry said that COP27 had succeeded in building on previous conferences and achieving progress on the global climate agenda. He said that the summit had paved the way for a new era in the fight against climate change, and spoke of the establishment of the Loss and Damage Fund. Shoukry emphasized the importance of honest assessment of the current situation, given worrying indicators. He added that developed countries’ climate financing decreased while the developing countries’ financing needed to increase due to high financing costs. It was noted there had been an increase in the exploration and production of fossil fuels, particularly coal, in countries that had previously pledged to reduce or eliminate use of coal. The minister warned that these indicators could have significant negative consequences on achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement.