Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El Molla held talks with European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Vice President for Policy and Partnerships Mark Bowman to discuss ways to boost cooperation in emissions reduction and energy transition, a press release reported.

Additionally, the two sides discussed rising natural gas and oil prices due to the current political crisis as well as the ongoing preparations for Egypt’s hosting of COP 27.

During the meeting, El Molla affirmed Egypt’s commitment to the international agreements which aim to preserve the environment and reduce carbon emissions. He indicated that the strategies adopted by the government to support clean energy transition and emissions reduction are a key component of Egypt’s Vision 2030 for sustainable development.

The minister highlighted the ambitious plan put by the government in partnership with all interested ministries for using hydrogen as a low-carbon source of energy and to focus on long-term and short-term blue hydrogen production.

El Molla also emphasized the role of new technologies which opened a window not only for emissions reduction, but also for carbon capture, storage and utilization (CCSU) in value-added practices. He mentioned some of the projects in this regard including turning rice straw into wood and the trial project with Eni for carbon capture and storage at the Meleiha fields in the Western Desert. He also shed light on the initiative to use flare gas to reduce carbon emissions by more than 800,000 tons.

For his part, Bowman expressed EBRD’s appreciation for the partnership with Egypt, affirming its full readiness to support Egypt to preserve the environment. Also, during the meeting, the two parties agreed to form a joint team to identify the clean energy and emissions reduction projects and to prepare an initiative in light of studies related to carbon emissions reduction to be launched during COP 27.