SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (AP) — Egypt, host of U. N. climate talks this year, is piling up a series of agreements for its energy and transportation systems that still rely heavily on highly polluting fossil fuels.
The deals come with a $10 billion investment to upgrade “inefficient thermal power plants” with blank power such as wind or solar, financed through establishments such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the African Development Bank, HSBC and CitiBank.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said the two countries would identify a primary green hydrogen plant, which would use renewable energy to produce hydrogen, in Egypt’s Ain el-Sokhna on the Red Sea.
The allocation will have the capacity to produce one hundred megawatts of green hydrogen when completed, officials said. They added that the allocation, along with others on food and transportation, are part of Egypt’s national Nexus of Water, Food and Energy program, which was launched in July. The program aims to mobilize climate finance and investments for the country’s blank energy transition.
Norwegian renewable energy company Scatec will lead the hydrogen project’s progress. The company is already present in Egypt, having developed the Benban Solar Park, one of the largest in the world, in the province of Aswan in Upper Egypt.
Last week, Germany announced that it had also signed an initial agreement with Egypt to buy more herbal fuel and for the North African country to expand hydrogen production facilities.
According to the International Energy Agency, Egypt ultimately gets more than 90% of its electricity from herbal fuel and oil. Scientists say the use of those fossil fuels will have to be replaced internationally with renewable energy resources as soon as possible to combat climate change.
“Egypt’s energy matrix, but also that of many countries, is radically becoming in terms of integrating renewable energy, electrification and transport,” said Achim Steiner, director of the United Nations Development Programme.
In recent years, Egypt has intensified its efforts to embrace the choice of renewable energy and move away from dependence on fossil fuels. Authority.
German rail operator Deutsche Bahn announced this week that its subsidiary DB International Operations has been awarded a contract to operate Egypt’s new high-speed network.
The agreement, signed on the sidelines of the two-week weather talks in Sharm el-Sheikh, is worth more than one billion euros (dollars) and, first of all, will last for 15 years.
With Egypt’s population expected to grow from 104 million to 160 million by 2050, the country hopes high-speed rail will offer a cleaner and safer option for its congested roads.
The first line will link Alexandria, Cairo and a new administrative capital from 2025. Two more linking Abu Simbel, Luxor and Hurghada on the Red Sea will be added later, linking 90% of Egypt’s population to the network.
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Associated Press Frank Jordans contributed from Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
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