UN climate summit opens in Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh

SHARM EL SHEIKH, Egypt (AA) – The UN climate summit COP27 kicked off Sunday in Egypt’s Red Sea resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh.

Taking place in the period between Nov. 6-18, more than 40,000 participants have been registered for this year's summit to discuss ways to lessen the negative impacts of climate change and adapting to its repercussions.

British COP26 President Alok Sharma handed over the presidency of the COP27 to Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry.

“This conference must be about concrete action,” Sharma said. “We need to accelerate that progress in the remainder of this decisive decade.”

Shoukry, for his part, highlighted the climate incidents that have impacted several areas worldwide, most recently in the floods in Pakistan as well as African and European countries.

“The world does not have the luxury of continuing the approach of polarizing efforts to combat climate change,” he said. "The current climate situation calls for urgent international action.”

*Ikram Imane Kouachi contributed to this report