Egypt, World Bank discuss ways to achieve sustainable development amid climate change
By Nneka Nwogwugwu
Egypt’s Minister of Trade and Industry Nevine Game affirmed the government’s keenness to enhance cooperation with its international partners regarding climate change adaptation, green recovery, and energy diversification.
Gamea has met with a World Bank delegation, headed by Ayat Soliman, the Regional Director of the Sustainable Development Department for the Middle East and North Africa Region at the bank.
The two sides reviewed the developments of the report prepared by the bank in cooperation with 25 countries, including Egypt, on the effects of climate change and ways to combat it.
The minister said that the World Bank is one of the most prominent international financial institutions with which Egypt cooperates in facing climate change with the aim of developing policies pursued by the state to overcome the climate change crisis and provide the necessary financial support for sustainable development projects.
She also highlighted Egypt’s keenness to benefit from the expertise of the World Bank and its studies on climate and developing policies that are efficient in adapting to the climate change crisis during the coming period.
Gamea noted that the ministry is also keen to raise awareness among manufacturers and investors of the need to take into account environmental conditions and climatic changes in industrial activities and to adhere to the standard specifications issued in this regard in a way that contributes to preserving the environment and human health.
This is as well as enhancing the competitiveness of Egyptian products in various foreign markets, especially those that impose environmental conditions on its imports.
Consequently, the ministry paid great efforts in rationalising energy consumption, producing green hydrogen, and using agricultural waste for recycling to convert it into raw materials used in other industries.
For her part, Soliman stated that the bank will complete an initial version of the report by next May in preparation for issuing a final report and presenting it during the work of the United Nations’ Conference of Parties on Climate Change (COP 27), which is scheduled to be hosted in Egypt’s Sharm El-Sheikh in November.
Soliman added that the report is based on three axes —water, agriculture, adaptation programmes, and clean and renewable energy — stressing that coastal regions and cities are among the areas most vulnerable to the negative repercussions of climate change.
