The Dinner Talk 2019 brought 28 high ranking stakeholders in the field of environment and climate change together, to raise awareness and foster cooperation between policymakers, business, the scientific community and civil society on this global prominent issue.

The DAAD Regional Office Cairo had the honor to announce Prof. Dr. Rahmstorf as the esteemed guest speaker of the evening. He is one of the most influential climate scientists and oceanographers of the time. Since 2000, he has been a professor of Physics on the Oceans at Potsdam University in Germany. He is a member of numerous scientific associations, such as the Academia Europaea, the scientific advisory board of National Geographic Germany, or the American Geophysical Union. Prof. Dr. Rahmstorf is the author of around 100 scientific publications in different international journals. Moreover, he was one of the lead authors of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Fourth Assessment Report which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007.

© Michael Asaad

The Dinner Talk started with three welcoming speeches by Ms. Isabell Mering, the director of the DAAD Regional Office Cairo, Mr. Tamer M. Abou Gharara, Advisor to the Minister of Environment for International Relations and Prof. Dr. Amr A. Adly, the Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research for University affairs.

After the welcoming notes Prof. Dr. Rahmstorf presented on the current global climatic situation, with special focus in the rise of the sea levels, the destruction of reefs and increasing heating periods. He highlighted the grave situation our planet is at the moment and concluded, that Global warming is unequivocal and ongoing, and the impacts are not subtle and are felt around the world. Moreover, stopping global warming well below 2°C and reaching zero emissions is a race against time and the governmental commitments to this are far too weak.

After a short question and answer session the Dinner Talk closed with a networking dinner.