A greener economy on World Environment Day

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the first UN Conference on the Human Environment (the Stockholm Conference) of 1972, which created the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and designated 5 June as World Environment Day.

The 2022 World Environment Day celebrations were held under the slogan “Only One Earth” and focused on sustainable living in harmony with nature through transformative changes in policies for cleaner and greener lifestyles.

In Egypt, the Supreme Council of Culture (SCC) with the Committee on Geography and the Environment celebrated World Environment Day in the Wadi Degla Protectorate in Maadi under the auspices of Minister of Culture Ines Abdel-Dayem and the supervision of SCC Secretary-General Hisham Azmi.

At a symposium for youth protectorate pioneers on the day, Abdel-Massih Samaan, professor of environmental education at Ain Shams University in Cairo and rapporteur of the committee, gave an overview of Egypt’s efforts to address climate change.

Samaan said Egypt had prepared an interactive map of areas potentially most affected by climate change and summarised measures already taken to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and pollution. Older cars were being replaced with newer ones running on natural gas to reduce pollution, canals were being lined to reduce leakage, and there are plans to manufacture electric cars in Egypt in 2023, he said.

Projects were being set up to generate renewable and solar energy such as at the Benban Solar Park in Aswan and a wind farm at Gabal Al-Zeit, he said. Egypt’s energy needs are currently 20 per cent covered by new energy sources, a percentage projected to increase to 40 per cent in the next 10 years.

Egypt has also issued green bonds worth LE750 million to finance clean energy projects, is implementing sustainable transport projects, and is transitioning to 50 per cent green projects by 2024 and 100 per cent by 2030.