Climate change, rising sea level threaten Egypt’s Alexandria

Throughout the inauguration speech on the United Nations Local weather Change Convention (COP 26) held within the Scottish metropolis of Glasgow from Oct. 31 to Nov. 12, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson talked about the Egyptian metropolis of Alexandria, which is without doubt one of the cities threatened to vanish underneath rising seas ought to the earth temperature rise by 4 levels Celsius (7.2 levels Fahrenheit), except the local weather modifications are addressed.

Johnson’s statements on Alexandria obtained broad media protection in Egypt and quite a lot of curiosity from Egyptians, particularly on social media, the place many on-line customers expressed their fears, urging the federal government to take proactive steps to confront local weather change. Others appear to be skeptical of Johnson’s warnings, deeming them as pessimistic of the longer term.

Alexandria governorate is situated on the Mediterranean coast in northern Egypt and Alexandria is taken into account the nation’s second capital. It was based by Alexander the Nice in 332 B.C. and named after him. The town’s space is estimated at 2,679 sq. kilometers (1,034 sq. miles), with a inhabitants of greater than 5 million folks.

Alexandria is residence to many distinctive landmarks, together with the Alexandria Port, the most important in Egypt, dealing with about 80% of the nation’s imports and exports, and the Nice Library of Alexandria, which incorporates over 8 million books, along with a number of museums and archaeological websites such because the Citadel of Qaitbay, Pompey’s Pillar, amongst different landmarks. 

Abbas Sharaki, professor of geology and water assets at Cairo College, instructed Al-Monitor that when Johnson talked about Alexandria, he meant all the northern Nile Delta space in Egypt.

He defined that town of Alexandria itself is usually constructed on an embankment wall excessive above sea degree by a mean of 5-30 meters (16-98 toes). Based on Sharaki, the endangered zone begins from Abu Qir, northeast of town, which is the doorway to the seawater, all the way in which to the northern delta. It contains the governorates of Beheira, Dkhalia, Kafr al-Sheik and Damietta, that are threatened to vanish underneath rising water ranges and switch into one big lake.

Whereas some Egyptian officers acknowledge the local weather change results on the Egyptian coast, others are eager on reassuring residents concerning the state’s readiness to handle such modifications.

In a televised assertion, Alexandria Gov. Mohamed al-Sharif stated that the governorate has been witnessing since 2015 a rise in torrential rain charges, inflicting a number of issues. He famous that the state is making concerted efforts to face the local weather modifications, primarily by establishing concrete partitions to guard seashores and different areas that is likely to be uncovered to the rising water threat.

In the meantime, Minister of Water Sources and Irrigation Mohamed Abdel Aty pressured that Johnson’s statements about Alexandria will not be one thing new for Egypt, noting that the federal government had begun years in the past to implement seashore safety works and can be engaged on eradicating all encroachments on the Nile River to make room for extra water absorption.

“We’re working in line with a imaginative and prescient that spans over years. The eventualities put ahead by the British prime minister won’t occur at the moment or tomorrow. His statements had been solely meant to be a purple flag for the entire world to start out taking motion,” Abdel Aty stated.

On this regard, Sharaki stated, “We ought to be afraid of statements associated to the results of local weather change as a result of it takes about 500 years for the earth’s temperature to rise by 4 levels [Celsius] and this occurs step by step and might be predicted and prevented.”

He famous that people will not be solely answerable for the rise within the earth’s temperature for the current time, and that the globe goes by what is named the “greenhouse or interglacial interval” that lies between the 2 ice ages and is characterised by its heat local weather. Even when people go away the earth, temperatures will hold rising, however maybe at a decrease fee than they’re now.

He added that along with the local weather challenge, shut consideration should be given to folks’s well being, which is being affected by industrial emissions.

In the meantime, Egyptian Setting Minister Yasmine Fouad referred to as on main industrialized nations, which have the most important share of greenhouse gasoline emissions, to guide by instance and begin working to cut back these fast-paced emissions and to decide to paying an annual sum of $100 billion that was agreed on to assist creating nations handle local weather change, along with the long-term financing plan, amounting to $1 trillion, to fulfill the fundamental necessities to confront the phenomenon.

In televised statements, Fouad confirmed that Egypt is working at a fast tempo to handle local weather change, whereas it contributes solely 0.06% of the carbon emissions globally.

Throughout his speech on the Glasgow convention, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi referred to as on developed nations to meet their pledge to offer $100 billion a yr for addressing local weather change in creating nations.

Sisi stated that Egypt has accomplished the preparation for the Nationwide Local weather Change Technique for 2050, and has been taking critical steps to implement a sustainable growth mannequin, together with adaptation to local weather change results, in a bid to convey the share of the government-funded inexperienced venture to 50% by 2025 and 100% by 2030.

In the meantime, Waheed Saudi, a local weather skilled, instructed Al-Monitor, “Each nation has the accountability to handle local weather change, however I doubt that many will decide to decreasing polluting emissions, particularly since main nations, specifically Australia, China, India and the USA, didn’t participate within the settlement to step by step remove coal vegetation — the most important supply of polluting gases – which was put ahead on the sidelines of the COP 26 and was accepted by 40 nations.”