Green Egypt: Strategic pivot to renewables, hydrogen, and ESG post-COP27
Egypt's energy sector is undergoing significant change, fueled by ambitious national plans and strategic partnerships with global entities.
The country is well positioned to balance the need for energy security with its commitment to achieve sustainable development and address climate change.
Egypt is demonstrating its potential to achieve low carbon development pathways through initiatives such as Nexus of Water, Food, and Energy (NWFE) Program, and the National Climate Change Strategy (NCCS) 2050, as well as the announcement of the regulated voluntary carbon market (Africarbonex), and gazetted regulatory standards for mandatory Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) reporting.
Egypt's strategic geopolitical location and abundant renewable resources position the country as a potential regional energy hub. The focus on green hydrogen production as well as proactive approaches to capitalize on the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), demonstrates the country's progressive approach to energy transition.
The CBAM, starting January 2026, will implement a tax on the greenhouse gas (GHG) – mainly carbon dioxide – emitted during the production of carbon intensive goods such as steel, cement, fertilizers, aluminum, electricity and hydrogen that are entering the EU.
Nonetheless, challenges remain. Financial constraints, regulatory provisions, and infrastructural deficiencies continue to hinder the expedited rollout of renewable energy projects.
Addressing these challenges will require strategic policy reforms and policy investments to ensure appropriate financial instruments and strengthened public-private cooperation.
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Facial recognition, large language models, predictive analytics, they all operate across regions. If we don't align on ethics globally, we risk creating fragmented systems with uneven protections. What Needs to Happen Now It's clear that we're moving in the right direction, but not fast enough. What's missing is the bridge between principles and practice. We need: Not just values, but verification. Not just pledges, but clear policies. Not just intentions, but independent audits. Ethics should be baked into the AI lifecycle, from design to deployment. That means testing for bias before the model goes live, ensuring transparency in how decisions are made, and creating clear channels for redress when systems fail. AI governance shouldn't slow innovation. It should guide it. The pace of AI innovation is staggering. Every week brings new tools, new capabilities, and new risks. But alongside that speed is an opportunity: to define the kind of AI future we want. 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