What’s on the new cabinet’s green agenda? More renewables, more green hydrogen, and enhanced water security are just some of the sustainability goals the new Madbouly cabinet laid out in a 276-page document that details its plans for the three years to come.

It’s all about renewables: The new government sees renewables making up 18.6% of Egypt’s total energy mix by the fiscal year 2026-2027, up from 11.5% last year and 13.8% forecasted for this year.

Long term: The state sees renewables making up 42% of the country’s energy sources by 2030. Meanwhile, earlier this month the Electricity Ministry said Egypt plans to push that number to 58% by 2040.

The road to a greener Egypt: In efforts to reach its goals, the cabinet will be doubling down on the development of hydroelectric and solar projects and increasing the production of green hydrogen and its derivatives for export and increasing its use domestically — namely in the industry and transport sectors.

Remember: Egypt has big green hydrogen ambitions as the government works to transform it into a regional hub for green hydrogen production by 2026 and a global hub by 2030, with plans to produce 3.2 mn tons of green hydrogen a year by 2030 and 9.2 mn tons a year by 2040.

ON THE ELECTRICITY FRONT-

More electricity production: The new cabinet wants to steadily ramp up electricity production from 229 terawatt hours (twh) in the current fiscal year to 242 twh in FY 2026-2027, and 260 twh by 2030.

A recap of the past few years: Electricity production grew at an annualized rate of 2.9% in the ten years leading up to 2023 to settle at some 220.1 twh, according to the Energy Institute’s 2024 Statistical Review of World Energy.

Less waste, consumption: The government wants to cut down on the percentage of energy wasted from 19.4% during the last fiscal year to 12% by 2030. It also wants to reduce energy consumption by 18% by 2035 through developing the electricity grid, promoting the use of energy-saving appliances in households, and putting an end to electricity theft.

ICYMI- Electricity has been a hot topic over the past year or so and all eyes are on the new Electricity Ministry to see how it will tackle rolling blackouts — the ministry began reducing the electrical load in July 2023 to ration the consumption of natural gas production. The power cuts were originally blamed on summer heat waves, but after temperatures have fallen, officials noted that the one-hour cut saves the country some USD 300 mn per month. The government is expected to secure the needed natural gas reserves to keep the lights on 24/7 by the end of next week, cabinet spokesperson Mohamed El Homsani said earlier this week.

ON THE ENVIRONMENT FRONT-

The document details a long list of environment-related goals for the coming three years, from reducing pollution to finding a way to tackle rising sea levels. Among the most notable are:

#1- Pollution: The cabinet wants to continue implementing an integrated plan to curb air pollution in line with Egypt Vision 2030. It also wants to set up more networks to monitor air and noise pollution and find a way to control facilities that funnel waste towards the Nile and other bodies of water.

#2- Municipal waste: The cabinet wants to boost the efficiency of solid municipal waste gathering to 85% by FY 2026-2027 and 95% by 2030, from 70% during the last fiscal year. It also wants to increase the percentage of collected solid waste that is safely recycled to 60% by FY 26-27 from 30% last year.

#3- Natural reserves: The cabinet wants to continue carrying out its plan to manage the country’s natural reserves ahead of offering them to investors. This also includes setting up public private partnerships to take over the servicing of those areas.

#4- Water security: The cabinet wants to reduce water waste, expand the use of smart irrigation systems, ensure its bodies of water are free of pollution, and boost cooperation with Nile Basin countries all in effort to protect our water security.

#5- Food security: As part of its plan to ensure food security, the cabinet wants to roll out an investment plan to ensure the agriculture sector is not impacted by climate change, increase the quality of its agricultural produce, and improve the agriculture sector’s investment environment.

To fund it all: The cabinet plans to raise the portion of green investments to 60% of total public investments during FY 2026-27 from 40% during the last fiscal year.

A whole lotta goals: We previously looked at the new cabinet’s goals for the economy and will be dissecting its goals for infrastructure, logistics, aviation, and more in future issues.

Tags: