The President of the Republic, Vahagn Khachaturyan, interviewed the Middle East News Agency ahead of the 27th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27).
During the interview, the president expressly referred to Egypt's presidency of the conference, solutions to climate problems, priorities set by Armenia in that context, expectations from the conference, and Armenian-Egyptian relations.
"Being the presiding party of the conference, Egypt has the opportunity to unite developed and developing countries around common interests, creating a more favorable atmosphere for solving the main challenges," President Khachaturyan said. - The conference is an opportunity for the whole world to assess the climate events that have taken place in recent years and to work closely together to overcome the climate crisis, taking into account the different national conditions and opportunities between countries. The conference is also a platform to promote climate finance for the transition to green economic systems and climate change adaptation, to raise awareness of climate technologies in developing countries, as well as to increase global climate ambitions."
The President emphasized the importance of the 27th conference also because it can make progress on climate finance; in particular, the adequacy and predictability of climate finance are crucial to achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement.
Speaking about the impact of climate change on migration flows, the president noted that the more frequent and long-lasting dangerous hydrometeorological phenomena, such as hailstorms, early frosts, spring floods, mudslides, landslides, and drought, leave their negative consequences on agriculture every year and that the sum of all also has an impact on migration flows, which go not only between nearby settlements but also between continents. According to him, those who live in regions with more favorable climatic conditions, especially in the northern areas, must accommodate millions of migrants while adapting to the demands of the climate crisis. The President emphasized that military conflicts and war operations have the most direct impact on soil and air pollution and have an immediate effect on agricultural pastures, green areas, and forests. The most straightforward and prominent examples are the large-scale forest fires that occur during military operations, the increase in soil and air pollution from the explosion of shells, etc.
President Vahagn Khachaturyan called on the international community to combine efforts to face such problems because the consequences of various conflicts and especially military conflicts, have an extremely negative impact on the environment and climatic conditions, which cover large geographical areas that exceed the conflict zones and, of course, the civilian population. According to him, global mass migration is occurring not only at a time of unprecedented climate change but also at a time of changing human demographics and as the world's population is expected to continue to grow in the coming decades, reaching around 10 billion in the 2060s, with most of the population growth occurring in tropical regions most affected by the effects of climate change.
Vahagn Khachaturyan noted that climate change adaptation policies and measures are essential for Armenia's achieving its social and economic development goals. The National Climate Change Adaptation Action Plan approved by the government in 2021 guides efforts to integrate adaptation into sectoral and regional development plans. As well as "Nationally defined actions of the Republic of Armenia for 2021-2030 under the Paris Agreement".
The Armenian government has set a new target for mitigating climate change on the scale of the entire economy. That is, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40% in 2030 compared to 1990. Armenia's long-term low-emission development strategy is under development to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, contingent on adequate international financial, technological and capacity-building support.
Referring to the Armenian-Egyptian relations, President Khachaturyan noted that the relations between Armenia and Egypt are based on the centuries-old friendship between the two peoples and, therefore, it is a reasonable basis for maintaining and further strengthening the close and warm relations between the two countries. The President expressed confidence that relations between Armenia and Egypt will continue to develop and deepen.