Egypt's Ministry of Environment and the General Authority for the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZONE) have signed a cooperation protocol to achieve joint cooperation in supporting and developing the Egyptian industry in its various sectors within the scope of the authority. The protocol stipulates that the Environmental Affairs Agency will organise a conference to introduce the industrial community in the region to the circular economy, the green economy, control of industrial pollution, and how to comply with environmental legislation and laws, in cooperation and coordination with the authority. It also includes organising introductory seminars at the sectoral level to introduce the industrial community in the region to how to benefit from the program's initiatives and services, educating the authority's business development officials about the criteria for participating in the programs, as well as helping companies operating in the qualified area that meet the requirements to benefit from technical support, grants or financing available through the program in the field of improving performance, reducing energy and resource consumption, and achieving compliance with environmental laws and regulations. Minister of Environment Yasmine Fouad confirmed that the protocol helps in facilitating the access of industrial companies operating within the zone to financing through industrial pollution control programs and sustainable green industry at the Ministry of Environment, in addition to inviting the industrial sector in the zone to introduce it to the circular economy and the green economy and projects related to this subject through conferences and workshops that will be organized through joint cooperation. She added that the ministry would, according to the protocol, provide support for preparing the general framework for the sustainable development strategy for the economic authority in the zone, as well as preparing a sustainable development strategy for the industrial companies that will be supported in the region, in addition to supporting capacity building and developing the skills of specialists in the authority and industrial companies in the areas of sustainable consumption and production and calculate the carbon footprint of products. Fouad noted that the ministry is seeking, within the framework of its cooperation with the authority, to establish a system for trading carbon emissions reduction units. According to the terms of the protocol, the authority is committed to coordinating to facilitate the communication process between the initiatives and projects of the Environmental Affairs Agency and between companies operating in the Suez Canal Economic Zone, as well as identifying establishments that can be funded from the industrial pollution control program and those related to the transition towards a green economy or that need to adjust their environmental conditions. Moreover, the authority coordinates between the program management and the developers and investors working in the region regarding presenting the program's fields of work, the available financing opportunities (loans/grants), the priority industrial areas, and the requirements for obtaining support from the program, in addition to providing the necessary and supportive information, data and maps.
