Egypt: The Ministry of Planning and Economic Development announced the opening of applications for the second round of the National Smart Green Initiative in all governorates of the Republic starting today, April 1 and continuing until the end of May, through the initiative’s website, www.sgg.eg.
The update regarding the same was shared by the Ministry through its social media account. The update read, “The initiative comes under the sponsorship of President of the Republic, Dr Hala Al-Saeed, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, said, referring to Prime Minister’s decision No. 2738 of 2022 on the launch of the initiative, which comes within the framework of Egypt’s leading role in sustainable development, and the importance of the State to domesticate sustainable development goals on Provincial level.”
It added that Al-Saeed emphasized that the initiative is unprecedented globally, focusing on implementation and application on the ground and underscoring the seriousness of dealing with environmental distancing and climate changes to achieve sustainable development goals and digital transformation by providing projects that accomplish these goals.
The Ministry has also informed that Ambassador Hisham Badr, General Coordinator of the initiative, noted that the initiative affirms the Egyptian state’s interest in the issue of climate change and comes within the framework of the focus of empowering the private sector, youth and women, in light of the state’s efforts to achieve sustainable development goals and digital transformation, as well as the National Strategy for Climate Change 2050, clarifying that the initiative’s basic goal is Creating community and stimulating movement within all provinces, to emphasize the importance of green and smart projects in various aspects of life.
The National Coordinator of the Initiative praised the important role of the governorates and encouraged all classes and sectors to participate in the initiative, noting that a number of governorates started announcing the start of the second round, getting ready to start work, receiving project requests, inquiries and clarifying the criteria that should be available in the submitted projects.
In addition to this, the Ministry has outlined that Ambassador Hisham Badr added that the cooperation of ministries and different entities from all sectors in the first round of the initiative has resulted in a number of gains on the creation of the first database of smart green projects at the governorate level, with more than 6,000 projects submitted to the initiative.
As well as the governorates’ interest in raising awareness of climate issues, especially by choosing the project of an ambassador to the province, the initiative certainly made sure to present the winning projects at the national level at the COP27 climate conference in Sharm El-Sheikh last November and the solutions provided by these projects to deal with the risks of climate change, with Egypt being one of the most susceptible countries.
He pointed out that the initiative management is keen to continue cooperation during the second term to come out with more success stories.
The initiative targets several areas, projects that comply with environmental sustainability standards, which lead to reducing carbon emissions and pollution, conserving natural resources, and projects that promote energy efficiency and resources.
These projects address solutions to food security, water security, biodiversity issues and ecosystem services that help adapt to climate change. The various types of projects include large-scale, medium-sized, and small-scale local projects (especially related to the Decreased Living Initiative), as well as those submitted by start-ups, women’s development projects related to climate change and sustainability, and non-profit community initiatives and engagements.
The Ministry outlined that it is noted that the National Committee for Initiative includes a number of ministries and stakeholders representing the ministries of Foreign Affairs, Environment, International Cooperation, Communications, Local Development, and the National Council for Women, chaired by the Ministry of Planning, to ensure joint efforts and integration among all sectors of the country in addressing the issue of climate change.
