Egypt plans to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in its oil and gas sector by a quarter against a business-as-usual scenario by 2035, the country says in its latest climate plan under the Paris Agreement submitted to UN climate arm the UNFCCC on 8 November.
The government expects GHG emissions in the oil and gas sectors to be just over 2mn t CO2 equivalent (CO2e) in 2035, compared with a business-as-usual scenario of 2.74mn t CO2e, its third climate plan, or nationally determined contribution (NDC), says. In 2030, emissions will be around 1.7mn t CO2e, compared with a business-as-usual level of 2.57mn t CO2e.
Egypt also plans measures such as switching household cooking fuel away from LPG to natural gas.
The latest NDC says government priorities to 2035 include transitioning away from fossil fuels in a "just, orderly, and equitable manner, while refraining from investments in unabated coal power". The country has also pledged to continue the gradual removal of oil product subsidies.
The plan also lays out 2035 emissions targets for the electricity and transport sectors. GHG emissions in the electricity sector will be 154.5mn t CO2e in 2035, 38pc lower than a business-as-usual scenario. The transport sector's GHG emissions will fall by 13.3mn t CO2e, or around 8pc, against business-as-usual levels in 2035, to 157mn t CO2e.
All three sectors' targets are presented as reductions against business-as-usual levels, rather than absolute emissions reductions, and the country's GHG emissions are expected to continue to rise until 2035 with no sign of peaking. The three sectors accounted for almost half of Egypt's total GHG emissions in 2022, according to the NDC.
Egypt in 2022 emitted just under 386mn t CO2e, up from 350mn t CO2e in 2019, according to its first biennial transparency report submitted to the UNFCCC.
Egypt's latest NDC also underlines the 2024 national strategy for low-carbon hydrogen strategy, which aims to position the country as a "future global hub for green and blue hydrogen". As part of the strategy, hydrogen will be introduced as an industrial fuel after 2030 in the local market, particularly in sectors such as fertilizers and iron and steel production, and it will also serve as a cleaner substitute for natural gas in refinery operations, the NDC says.
Egypt is on track to meet its 2030 NDC targets with existing policies, largely owing to the country's unambitious climate targets, according to a recent progress report covering the world's largest emitters. The report says fossil fuels remain "central" to Egypt's economic strategy, with the government seeking to reverse declining domestic production.
Egypt estimates the financial resources required to implement its third NDC at a "minimum" $324bn, of which mitigation measures account for about two-thirds, or $211bn, with the rest earmarked for adaptation measures.
Egypt views all of these financial requirements as conditional, depending on receiving external financial support such as concessional finance and grants.
The country also expresses its interest in taking part in international carbon markets under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.
