Egypt's First Biennial Update Report (BUR) project, held from 11 to 14 December the "Greenhouse Gases Emissions and Mitigations Opportunities" workshop to exchange views between the private and public sectors, according to a statement from the project. The workshop gathered about 200 representatives from the private and public sectors, focusing on outreach to the private sector, where most of the emissions are originating. The public sector included high representation from the ministries of environment, transportation, agriculture, industry, and electricity. Opportunities to mitigate the amount of greenhouse gas emissions were identified during the workshop, as the process would help in improving the Egyptian economy and support the environment and sustainability in various sectors, according to the statement. On Monday, the BUR project discussed mitigation opportunities for the energy sector. Participants' main recommendation focused on the need to attract the finance required to carry out mitigation actions within the petroleum sector. They also stressed the need to engage the private sector to expand the use of solar energy on medium and small scales to reduce dependency on the electricity generated by fossil fuels. On Tuesday, representatives from the industrial sector discussed the opportunity to invest in recycling waste as a source of supplemental energy for industry processes. Meanwhile, on Wednesday, representatives from the agriculture and waste sector focused on mitigation opportunities. They highlighted the need to reform the waste sector and provide incentives to recycle wastes, including agriculture wastes, to produce valuable recyclables. By the end of the workshop on Thursday, transportation sector representatives exchanged information on mitigation opportunities. They emphasised that the need to implement structural reforms within the transportation sector and to develop a joint strategy with the private sector to reduce emissions to be able to make an impact. All workshop recommendations will be documented in a report, so as to get support from developed countries, as obligated by the Paris Agreement, read the statement. The BUR project is a partnership between the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA), and is funded by GEF. It aims to prepare Egypt's first Biennial Update Report as required by the UNFCCC's Paris Agreement, and to provide capacity building to support national policies and measures related to climate change, including adaptation. Egypt is requested under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to prepare the Biennial Update Report, which summarises the inventory of greenhouse gas (GHG), mitigation policies, and the needs to further mitigate GHGs. The Paris Agreement was ratified by the Egyptian parliament in July 2017 and is an opportunity to further finance activities related to the mitigation of GHGs.
