Egypt recently announced an investment of $1.2 billion in green projects as it ramps up its efforts in the energy sector ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference 2022 (COP27), to be held in Sharm el-Sheikh in November.

The plans underway encompass three green petrochemical projects, Tarek el-Molla, the Petroleum Minister of Egypt, has said in a statement.

The investment will involve three projects starting with a $600 million biofuel production plant; the second is a $600 million-worth biodegradable plastic factory with a production capacity of 75,000 tons, with an annual reduction of 45,000 tons of CO2 emissions. The third project is a $50 million recycling project where used plastic will be converted into 30,000 tons of oil annually to make polyethylene.

The minister has indicated that the petroleum sector in Egypt has developed policies and strategies to expand green energy projects and leverage the latest CO2 emissions reduction technologies.

In cooperation with foreign partners, Egypt has implemented 13 projects to explore flare gas in petroleum facilities as an alternative to diesel in ten companies affiliated with the sector.

The country has 88 projects that have been completed to improve energy efficiency and reduce electricity consumption in 31 companies and install and operate solar energy cells in 21 companies with a total capacity of 1,350 kilowatts. The total CO2 emissions reduced from those projects amounted to about 1.3 million tons annually.

Egypt is intensifying its efforts in the energy sector. These announcements come on the back of the country recently inking several agreements with international companies to start producing green hydrogen in the Suez Canal economic zone.