EU and Egypt step up cooperation on climate, energy and the green transition

CAIRO, 15th June, 2022 (WAM) — Today in Cairo, on the occasion of the visit of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and her meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, the EU and Egypt issued a joint statement on climate, energy and the green transition.

The two sides reviewed and discussed enhanced cooperation on climate, energy and industrial transformation challenges ahead of COP27 in Egypt later this year.

President von der Leyen said: “We are starting to tap into the full potential of EU-Egypt relations, by putting the clean energy transition and the fight against climate change at the heart of our partnership. I look forward to working with Egypt as COP27 Presidency to build on the good momentum from last year in Glasgow. Egypt is also a crucial partner in our efforts to move away from Russian fossil fuels and towards more reliable suppliers.”

The EU and Egypt will join efforts to implement the Paris Agreement and ensure ambitious outcomes at COP27, which takes place in Sharm El-Sheikh in November. The joint statement commits both parties to work together on a global just energy transition, on improving adaptation capacity, mitigating loss and damage due to climate change, and on increasing climate finance to respond to the needs of developing countries.

The cooperation will have a particular focus on renewable energy sources, hydrogen, and energy efficiency. The EU and Egypt will develop a Mediterranean Hydrogen Partnership to promote investments in renewable electricity generation, strengthening and extension of electricity grids, including trans-Mediterranean interconnectors, the production of renewables and low carbon hydrogen, and the construction of storage, transport and distribution infrastructure.

Security of gas supply is a common major concern. Egypt and the EU will work together on the stable delivery of gas to the EU and on the sustainable exploitation of natural gas resources in the framework of robust long-term decarbonisation objectives and measures to manage and reduce fugitive methane emissions. In that context, Egypt and the EU welcome the signature of the Memorandum of Understanding between Egypt, Israel and the European Union represented by the European Commission, signed on June 15, 2022.

Egypt and the EU will reinforce their bilateral cooperation on green transition based on a spirit of shared ambition, principles and partnership to allow both sides to reap all the benefits from investing into a low emissions, climate-neutral and climate-resilient future in line with the EU-Egypt Partnership Priorities.