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Al-Ahram Weekly 15 - 21 July 1999 Issue No. 438 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 15 - 21 July 1999 Issue No. 438
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Profile Features Travel Living Sports Time Out Chronicles People Cartoons Letters Greening the energy sector
By Sherine NasrDespite the prominent role the energy sector plays in the economies of the 13 Arab nations, including Egypt, that are members of the Economic and Social Commission of Western Asia (ESCWA), the region is characterised by harmful emission rates and in some countries, such as Kuwait and Qatar, excessively high energy use, participants at a recent ESCWA meeting were told. Moreover, exploration, production and distribution patterns in the ESCWA countries' energy sectors are having a serious adverse environmental impact on their air, water and soil.
"We need to develop measures which will mitigate the [negative] environmental impact [resulting from] the energy sector, because this is crucial for sustainable development in the ESCWA region," said head of the ESCWA's Energy Issues Section, Anhar Hegazi.
Egypt hosted a number of experts and environmentalists representing the organisation's member states at the meeting which also discussed ways of harmonising environmental standards in the energy sectors, as well as the adoption of mechanisms for the development and implementation of environmental standards in the region.
"One means of improving environmental policy-making is to address the issue of trade competition, as well as the trans-boundary nature of pollution problems," stressed Executive Director of the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA) Ibrahim Abdel-Gelil.
The road to full environmental harmonisation of laws and their implementation in the region is expected to be a long one, given the disparities between members' economies and the varying geographic conditions in the ESCWA states.
"We also have to pay attention to differences in the levels of development of existing environmental legislation and variations in the degree of enforcement. For the ESCWA countries, the situation is critical," said Abdel-Gelil.
However, the benefits which will accrue to public health, the environment, living standards, and the economies of member states should outweigh any obstacles impeding harmonisation of environmental standards, according to Hosni Al-Khordougi, a representative of Lebanon's public energy sector. "This harmonisation of standards will eliminate trade barriers imposed on products in the region," he said. It will also eventually "help reduce the degree of testing and certification which products have to undergo, as well as improve the way environmental criteria are applied, which often poses obstacles to the flow of trade."
In Egypt, for example, the presence of brown rot disease and the pesticide DDT in potatoes has resulted in the drastic reduction of potato exports to Europe where these contaminants are not allowed.
Unified environmental standards will also discourage polluting industries, and encourage funding from organisations such as the World Bank for power projects in countries complying with standards.
Al-Khordougi said that California lately banned a petrol additive called tri-methyl-butyl-ether, which causes harmful emissions. "It is expected that other American states will follow, in addition to European countries. Such a ban would certainly deal a strong blow to the petroleum exports of all Arab countries, including Egypt," he added.
According to the Egyptian State Minister of the Environment Nadia Makram Ebeid, Egypt is currently implementing a number of ambitious environment policies. Ebeid told Al-Ahram Weekly that a national energy efficiency programme is currently under way. Its aim is to "improve energy efficiency by switching to lower or zero carbon fuels, and promote the use of new and renewable energy technologies".
Clean burning natural gas currently meets 35 per cent of Egypt's domestic energy demand, according to Ebeid. It is also providing fuel for about 1.5 million homes, she added, and it is progressively replacing gasoline and diesel as a transport fuel.
Another positive aspect in ESCWA countries is the increasing use of new and renewable energy, such as wind power and solar energy "which are forms of environmentally friendly energy we should all capitalise on," said Hegazi.
Egypt's energy sector plans to build by the year 2017 wind power units capable of generating 600 megawatts, which will be connected to the main electricity grid. In addition, with the help of the Global Environmental Facility (GEF), it will also build the first solar thermal power plant with a 150 MW capacity, Abdel-Gelil said. "Egypt has also received GEF support to assess the feasibility of using public transit buses powered by fuel cells to curb air pollution and reduce greenhouse emissions in Cairo," he said.
