Egypt has accepted the UK’s offer to develop the former’s electricity grid by integrating the variable renewable energy needed to allow the electrification of the country’s transportation sector.
Egypt has already started working towards a greener economy by producing electric vehicles (EVs) and establishing EV charging stations, which may however increase the load on the grid.
The announcement came during Egypt’s participation in the third ministerial-level Energy Transition Council (ETC), which was established by the UK as one of the main initiatives of its UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) presidency. It aims to encourage select countries to set ambitious clean energy goals with the support of developed partners.
The third and final ETC meeting ahead of COP26 has focused on identifying short, medium, and long term priorities on renewable energy, energy efficiency, and technology and innovation in Egypt.
Anne-Marie Trevelyan, UK Minister of State for Climate Change, Energy and Clean Growth and Chair of the ministerial, spoke about the ETC’s progress so far. She also reviewed a new financial offer from key international programmes to support energy transitions in countries.
“The UK wants to continue to build collaborations around that global clean energy transition. Green grids are essential to the clean energy transitions,” Trevelyan said, “ETC partners have begun working to accelerate existing initiatives on grids at the national level and at the regional level with the African Development Bank (AfDB) to support our shared goals on clean energy transition and energy access.”
Egypt was represented by Ahmed Mohina, First Undersecretary for Research, Planning and Authorities’ Follow up at the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy.
Mohina took part in two main discussions, the first of which revolved around the financial and technical support put forward by ETC institutions on clean power and green grids. Meanwhile, the second discussion revolved around transitioning away from coal.
He said that the ETC has been very helpful in coordinating and streamlining international support on Egypt’s Clean Energy Transition ambitions.
Mohina added that Egypt would be exploring how it can access support from ETC members and programmes to deliver medium and long term priorities that the country has identified.
Additional projects in which the ETC can support Egypt include: desalination; transforming waste into energy; and promoting grid flexibility and energy efficiency, among other things.
Other key participants in today’s ministerial included representatives from countries such as Bangladesh, Kenya, Laos, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, South Africa and many others. There were also international institutions present, such as the World Bank, the European Investment Bank (EIB), the AfDB, and others.
It is important to note that the ETC, which was launched in September 2020, holds dialogues with various countries around the world, and is comprised of leaders of international organisations, multilateral development banks and other global development partners.
Its objective is to make clean power technologies a priority option for countries investing in power generation projects. It aims to double the rate of global investment in clean energy by 2035, and to achieve the seventh UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG7) of ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all.
