Role of Science, Technology and Innovation in Addressing Climate Change Challenges in Egypt

Abstract

Science has been approaching atmosphere, change in global temperature, oceans and seas for a long time; however as the climate change becoming a serious man made environmental challenge with its serious impact on livelihood, the role of science and new innovations and technologies became even more important than ever. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is a scientific body for the assessment of climate change, established to provide the world with a clear scientific view on the current state of climate change and its potential environmental and socio-economic consequences. The IPCC reviews and assesses the most recent scientific, technical and socio-economic information produced worldwide relevant to the understanding of climate change. Thousands of scientists from all over the world contribute to the work of the IPCC on a voluntary basis. It has been well established scientifically that The Near East and North Africa (NENA) region is one of the most vulnerable regions to climatic change. The ‘Regional Initiative for the Assessment of the Impact of Climate Change on Water Resources and Socio-Economic Vulnerability in the Arab Region’ RICCAR was initiated for a close scientific observation on the impact of climate change on the Region based on modeling and expected scenarios.To cope with the impact of climate change on agricultural sectors, new technologies and innovations have been tested and verified by agricultural research initiatives that contributes to the climate change adaptation efforts and enable the farmers and policy-makers to draw their strategies and actions to face climate change impacts. These efforts include integrating heat, drought, and salinity tolerance traits through genetic improvement into the crop and horticultural varieties. Similar breeding techniques have been used in the livestock sector. Crop simulation models can predict key crop characteristics over a wide range of climatic conditions, such as the timing of flowering and physiological maturity, through correct descriptions of phonological responses to temperature and day length. Egypt vision 2030 stated that “Knowledge, innovation, and scientific research contribute in achieving the goals of sustainable development in general, whether national or international, where the increase in the contribution of a large number of economic sectors in economic activity can be achieved by connecting scientific research outputs and innovation by the needs of these sectors”. The Egyptian research system is making great effort to overcome challenges related to innovation, and scientific research and already making big progress with regards to assessment of the climate change impact on Egyptian agriculture as well as suggesting scientific climate change adaptation measures.