Charcoal is stirring up dust, both about where its trees are sourced from and the climate cost of producing it. It came into the spotlight after mature trees along Gameat Al Dewal Al Arabeya street in Mohandesin were cut during work to widen the roads in late August and early September. Since then, questions have been raised over where trees for charcoal are coming from and how to mitigate the product’s environmental impact.

The tree felling in Mohandesin triggered a wave of pushback. MP Maha Abdel Nasser raised the issue in a parliamentary question on 7 September, which was followed by a nationwide Public Prosecution investigation into tree felling. Assad Heikal, a lawyer specializing in appeals, also filed a legal complaint alleging the removals were carried out systematically and were causing environmental and material damage, naming Local Development Minister Manal Awad and the Cairo and Giza governors. On 11 September, the Cabinet issued a statement regarding a quote attributed to Awad which apparently tied the tree removals to a state charcoal-export contract, calling the quote fabricated.

Experts say street trees are very unlikely to end up in exported charcoal. Hossam Rizk, owner of Egyptian Charcoal Company, stressed that street-tree wood can’t be used by charcoal makers and that the volume of such wood is a “drop in the ocean” compared to the huge consumption of the charcoal sector. Assem Mohamed, a professor of agricultural climate at the Agricultural Research Center’s Climate Change Information Center, says that street trees can be used to make charcoal, but since they are ornamental species (like ficus, jacaranda, or conocarpus), their wood produces a poor-quality charcoal that’s unfit for export. A charcoal export ban, which some media commentators have called for, wouldn’t stop trees from being cut down for urban development projects, Mohamed explains.

So, where do the trees for charcoal come from? Agricultural pruning and fruit trees supply most of it, Mohamed tells EnterpriseAM. He puts fruit trees at 85-90% of Egypt’s export-grade charcoal, with forestry and windbreak species making up the rest. Rizk independently confirms the pattern, citing citrus, mango, and guava orchards, alongside casuarina prunings from windbreaks.

Egypt’s charcoal exports are small compared to the controversy they triggered: The country exported USD 16.36 mn worth of wood charcoal in 2024, a sliver of its USD 42.55 bn in goods exports that year.

As it stands, the government does not require exporters to use specific types of wood or report where their wood is sourced from, Rizk tells EnterpriseAM. They do need an “Environmental Data Certificate,” he says, which confirms a shipment’s ignition degree, heat level, and component makeup, but does not confirm where the wood itself grew. Under Ministerial Decree 85/2017, the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency requires governorate and environmental approval, proof of registration, and a confirmed buyer contract, plus EGP 80 per ton into the Environmental Protection Fund.

Once the trees are sourced, the next discussion is about the most climate-conscious way to process them. Traditional earth kilns, still common across the Delta, run at just 10-20% conversion efficiency, Mohamed says. Most of the wood never becomes charcoal at all, instead being released as carbon dioxide, methane, and carbon monoxide during processing, he explains. And the surviving charcoal releases more carbon dioxide when it’s eventually burned, he adds.

Earth kilns are part of what the state has spent the past decade trying to phase out, but the transition isn’t complete. By Rizk’s account, the government stopped approving new traditional kilns because of the environmental damage they caused, offering manufacturers facilitation to switch to modern enclosed models instead — kilns that capture and reuse the gases given off during heating and finish a production cycle faster. Anyone in the industry can apply for one, he says.

Rizk operates one of these modern kilns, he says. Charcoal production, in all its stages, is kept away from residential areas, he adds, with monthly inspection cycles checking standards compliance. Local units handle most of the day-to-day monitoring, given their proximity to production sites. Anyone running an unapproved traditional kiln near homes gets shut down immediately, he says.

Money backs the switch, too: a targeted Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise Development Agency (MSMEDA) financing program, run with the Environment and Local Development Ministries, lends up to EGP 2 mn for kiln replacement. If a producer stays compliant for a year, the Environment Ministry pays 20% of the kiln’s price directly, credited against what they owe. Producers with broader financing needs can turn to bank loans of EGP 3-15 mn at up to 5% interest, Rizk says.

The Environment Ministry’s year-end 2025 report gives the clearest official snapshot of how far kiln modernization has progressed: more than 276 modernized models have received final operating licenses, and 10 eco-design templates are approved. The same report confirms that charcoal export and import approvals run through the ministry’s Investor Services Center.

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