Image: EU Commission
The European Union and Egypt are stepping up co-operation on the clean energy transition and the fight against climate change.
They will join efforts to implement the Paris Agreement and ensure ambitious outcomes at COP27, which is taking place in Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt this November.
They have issued a joint statement, committing to work together on a global just energy transition, improving adaptation capacity, mitigating loss and damage due to climate change and increasing climate finance to respond to the needs of developing countries.
The co-operation will have a particular focus on renewable energy sources, hydrogen and energy efficiency.
The EU and Egypt plan to develop a Mediterranean Hydrogen Partnership to promote investments in renewable power generation, strengthening and extension of grids, including trans-Mediterranean interconnectors, renewables and low carbon hydrogen production as well as the construction of storage, transport and distribution infrastructure.
Commission President Ursula 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.”
In addition, they are securing alternative gas supplies for Europe in light of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, with a trilateral memorandum of understanding signed between the EU, Egypt and Israel for the export of natural gas to Europe.
They will also promote the reduction of methane leakage, examine new technologies for reducing venting and flaring and explore possibilities for the utilisation of captured methane throughout the entire supply chain.
