30-10-2013. Source: EU Neighbourhood Info Centre

An EU-funded project promoting energy efficiency in construction, Med-ENEC II, recently led a discussion on energy efficiency and its potential to boost employment and energy needs in Egypt by reducing energy consumption, as part of the Cairo Climate Talks.

The Cairo Climate Talks are a series of events meant to provide a platform to exchange experiences, raise awareness and foster cooperation between policymakers, business, the scientific community and civil society. They consist in monthly podium discussions with leading policymakers and experts from Egypt, Germany and around the world, usually accompanied by half-day capacity building workshops and round table discussions for practitioners from Egypt.

Among the speakers were Michael Bock, German Ambassador to Egypt, Kamal Abu Eita, Minister of Manpower and Migration, and Angel Gutierrez from the EU Delegation to Egypt Economic Reform Section, who delivered a speech by Ambassador James Moran, the Head of the EU Delegation to Egypt.

If Egypt manages to overcome major obstacles that hinder its path towards a Green Economy, it is estimated that around 700,000 jobs could be created in the country in the next 15 years, a number well above other MENA countries. In light of the current employment market and the high number of young people seeking jobs, Energy efficiency could be very efficient at revitalizing the economy while decreasing CO2 emissions.

The Cairo Climate Talks are conceived, organized and hosted as a cooperation between the German Embassy in Cairo, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, the Ministry of State for Environmental Affairs (EEAA), and several German organisations working in the field of energy.