Climate change being a global issue, writes Enjy El-Naggar, Egypt is no exception As the last G8 summit showed, climate change is perhaps the most pressing environmental issue on world agendas; and since World Environment Day, at least, Egypt has caught on. According to Mohamed El-Shahawy, the climate change guru at the Ministry of State for Environment Affairs (MESA), "it's a fact, not a fiction; throughout the world, it's the topic of the day." The phenomenon, which is deceptively slow, is creeping on Egypt in the form of "the black cloud" -- a seasonal affliction of recent years -- and sandstorms, which though natural have become both more frequent and violent. Environmentalists like Cairo University botany professor Mohamed El-Qassass have been desperate to raise awareness of the issue: at a Supreme Council of Culture lecture celebrating World Environment Day, El-Qassass spoke at length on how, while climate change used to be a natural phenomenon, since the turn of the 20th century it has been subject to human intervention. This kind of climate change, expected to continue for 80 years, will have disastrous consequences, especially in a semi-arid to arid country where no more than four per cent of the total surface area is inhabited. It is water resources that will be greatly affected in Egypt, El-Shahawy elaborated: drops in rainfall will be accompanied by a rise in temperature and sea level, with the coastal areas flooded and drowned; sea water will seep into ground water sources as a result, as El-Shahawy goes on to say: "we must think carefully before we build alongside the shore. Buildings that cost billions are likely to sink without a trace." MESA have been thinking up efficient means to deal with climate change: "on the governmental level, MESA has been thinking about efficient solutions to deal with climate change. "Egypt signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 1994 and is also a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol, formulated with a view to what can be done to reduce global warming. So Egypt is obliged to carry out all the articles of these agreements, and all that we need is cooperation and funds from other countries, because combating climate change is a very costly process." The newly introduced "clean development mechanism [CDM]" involves 30 projects to help reduce carbon emissions and the greenhouse effect, utilise wind and solar energy and bulwark the north coast against erosion. On these tasks ministries of electricity, energy, petroleum and water resources are collaborating with MESA on a range of objectives from replacing petrol with natural gas to preserving water. "The main problem," according to El-Shahawy, "is that people don't realise the magnitude of the danger. The consequences are too far away in time to be taken seriously." Among other effects of climate change is a significant reduction in the amount of drinking water, 95 per cent of which comes from the Nile. What you can do: - Use less energy at home: switch off the current where it is not needed, and use energy-saving bulbs and clean them regularly. - Plant trees. - Produce less inorganic waste. - Use public transport or a bicycle instead of a private car.
