Elena Panova is the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Egypt charged with coordinating the UN system development activities in the country. She has been heavily involved in coordinating and mobilizing the UN system at global, regional and country level to support the preparation of COP27 activities. In this interview with the Africa Renewal’s Kingsley Ighobor, she discusses the extraordinary planning that went into organising COP27; the effects of climate change in Egypt; and her hopes for COP27. These are excerpts from the interview:
For the first time, we have children joining the COP; for the first time, we have a pavilion for youth and children. If I have to describe it in one word, I would say this COP is ‘vibrant.
I really want to see strong language on loss and damage. Because this is what the world expects from COP27. I want to see progress on the other tracks: the finance track—where we stand on the $100 billion promised by industrialised countries, but also how the new goal for climate finance is shaping up.
So, if this COP manages to sustain people's hopes that the climate change agenda has not been abandoned and that it's still front and centre of sustainable development, we will have done great.
