A Year in The World of Energy

A Year in The World of Energy

To begin with, considering the goal of being a leader in the MENA region’s shift to cleaner energy sources, Egypt is making notable progress in the field of renewable energy. Egypt is setting the stage for a more sustainable future by using wind, solar, and hydropower.

Since 2017, the nation’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have been gradually declining. Due in large part to improvements in energy industry efficiency and support for renewable energy projects, it was able to partially minimize GHG emissions from population and economic development. Egypt is still one of Africa’s top producers of oil and gas, nevertheless. Given the vast potential of the nation, increasing the usage of renewable energy might further result in a simpler implementation and usage of transitional fuels moving forward.

General Overview

Firstly, under newly implemented regulations, the Egyptian government has implemented a number of incentives to promote investment in the field of renewable energy. These consist of tax exemptions, customs duty exemptions, and other financial incentives intended to increase the viability and appeal of renewable energy projects to investors. To support its renewable energy sector, Egypt has participated in global partnerships and cooperation in addition to its local initiatives. These collaborations provide Egypt’s renewable energy projects access to technical know-how, financial opportunities, and a global viewpoint.

A number of factors, including trade deals, grants, funding and cost incursion, advancement of technology, infrastructure potential, human resources and capacity building, access to and/or limited availability of resources from nature, and, of course, stakeholder engagement, are associated with energy transitions in numerous nations.

Over the past year, Egypt’s national and international climate responsibilities have grown significantly. Egypt’s overall Sustainable Development Strategy, which includes climate targets, is outlined in Vision 2030. In order to further integrate climate issues into all policy domains, a 2023 update advocates a detailed strategy. The execution of the revised Vision is supported by a number of sectoral plans in several policy sectors (e.g. National Strategy for Green Hydrogen, Water Resources Development and Management Strategy 2050, Integrated Sustainable Energy Strategy 2035 etc.)

Natural Gas Transition: The Talk of the Town

Natural gas is widely known for its usage in homes for heating and cooking, but it is also a crucial fuel for power generation and is used in the production of chemicals and plastics.

Due to its greater availability, flexibility, and lower CO2 emissions than coal and oil, natural gas has been more and more popular in power production in recent decades. However, in order to fulfil global climate objectives, natural gas emissions must still be drastically cut. The hazards to energy security of relying on imported gas, especially in Europe, have also been highlighted by the havoc caused to the global energy market that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Burning natural gas is still an important contributor to pollution that needs to be decreased to satisfy global climate targets, even though it produces far less CO2 (and other pollutants) than burning coal or oil. That being said, natural gas’s main ingredient, methane, is a strong greenhouse gas. Even before any fuel is burnt, oil and gas extraction processes themselves significantly contribute to climate change through leaks from gas pipelines and processing facilities, as well as the deliberate venting or flaring of unneeded gas at production sites.

Thus, the world turned to the next big thing; the fuel source that is dominating the energy industry: hydrogen fuels. In national and worldwide initiatives, hydrogen is being viewed more and more as a potential player that might be used in a variety of industries, including transportation and industrial. Major global economies are creating roadmaps and plans specifically for hydrogen. The many stages of the hydrogen pathway—generation, transport, storage, distribution, and ultimate uses—are being addressed by research initiatives and industry applications. As suggested by a Climate Change Officer, “[Egypt] is under so much pressure now to take advantage of its natural gas supply and is trying to add hydrogen fuels to the mix to become a global leader. This plan will only work if the state of the economy is fit enough to support it. It has been a tough year with many ups and downs in the [oil and gas field], but its always cyclical and ready to bounce back.”

An alternative geopolitical map may be created by hydrogen. Governments will also take traditional energy geopolitical concerns like supply and demand security and diversification into account when discussing hydrogen geopolitics. Technological domination and resource availability will become more and more important factors in geopolitics. To maintain or gain a geopolitical role and the resulting income, major producers of oil and gas will need to become safe and dependable exporters of hydrogen. In addition to producing a portion of their hydrogen needs locally, certain nations will need to import hydrogen (green and/or blue) in order to reach their climate objectives. Hence, strengthening Egypt’s goal to become a regional hub.

In conclusion, in an effort to lessen its dependency on fossil fuels and its impact on the environment, Egypt has made a strategic dedication to renewable energy. Egypt’s renewable energy sector’s advancements offer optimism for energy security and sustainable development in the Middle East and North Africa as well as globally.

 

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