Virtual roundtable with Egyptian legislators

Due to its strategic location at the crossroads of Asia, Africa and Europe, and its abundant resources of hydro and solar energy, Egypt has a potential key role to play in the transition to a green economy. Dr Sergio Missana, Executive Director of the Climate Parliament, highlighted the support that the Climate Parliament can provide parliamentarians to help increase their country’s climate ambition. The Climate Parliament aims to raise awareness on the climate impacts faced by Egypt and can assist MPs in their legislative action to advance the renewable energy sector.

The Egyptian MPs shared their views about their country's climate action and plans to advance renewable energy, and their concerns about the challenges faced by renewable energy deployment. The country is struggling to find balance between economic growth and environmental protection. There is a need for a better legislative framework to provide systematic impact assessment of new construction projects, such as new dams. A lack of infrastructure and funds creates an important gap between the energy and environment policies and their actual implementation. Parliamentarians have a role to play in raising awareness about these issues, not only in the government but also in the population, relying on the youth which are already very sensitized to climate change and its consequences.

Solar energy is very promising in Egypt given the vast resources of the country. The MPs discussed ways of attracting investment and reducing the cost of solar energy, and also tackled the issue of how rural communities could benefit from the deployment of renewable energy mini-grids. The Climate Parliament secretariat shared examples of best practices from other countries facing similar challenges as Egypt, such as feed-in-tariffs and net metering, measures that have boosted investment in solar energy.