Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El Molla participated in the activities of the final recommendations session of Observatoire Méditerranéen de l’Energie (OME) titled ‘Combating Plastic Waste: Objectives, Innovations and Solutions to Reach Zero Waste… An In-Depth Look at the Mediterranean, Southeast Asia and Small Island Developing States,’ chaired by Houda Ben Jannet Allal, Director General of OME, the ministry said in a statement.

The session witnessed the participation of Mohamed Hamel, Secretary General of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), as well as officials from the French Environment and Energy Management Agency (ADEME) and the Sea Cleaners Organization.

In his speech, El Molla stated that this issue is very important and needs technical solutions and raising awareness to ensure better behavior by everyone and that the environmental damages of plastic waste, include risks to the marine environment from the extinction of animals, the destruction of coral reefs and an increase in global warming.

El Molla said that the COP 27 Climate Summit opened prospects for important discussions, research and presentation of solutions to real problems that affect the climate, such as the problem of plastic waste and the environmental damage it causes, and the need for partnership among all concerned parties to develop strategies, policies, agreements, financing, appropriate support and provision of technologies, and that this meeting enhances the summit of this year, indicating that solutions to overcome the problems of climate change already exist.

The minister explained that Egypt has launched a national strategy to reduce the negative effects of excessive consumption of plastic bags on health, the environment, the economy and society as a whole, and it aims to reduce the use of single-use plastic bags by 2050.

Allal thanked Egypt for hosting and organizing the COP27, an important event for the region and the world in light of the topics it addressed. It is able to keep pace with it and we need to use it in the petrochemical industry instead of causing global warming, referring to the observatory’s initiatives in this regard, Joel called for immediate action to confront this, especially single-use plastic waste, and to deal with this issue from the source.