Building consultancy firm JLL has issued a plea for the decarbonization of Egypt's built environment in advance of COP27

Titled "Egypt's Road to Decarbonization," the whitepaper investigates decarbonization of the built environment and highlights strategies for climate victory. Things like the effectiveness of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) in combating climate change, the necessity of bridging the funding gap with climate financing and green bonds, and the real estate industry's perspective on climate change and the critical role of transparency for decarbonization are all covered.

“It is important for Egypt, alongside other nations, to review the plans and actions of the most climate-progressive cities we identified in our recent Global Real Estate Transparency Index, and follow their path in implementing and mandating suitable, climate-friendly real estate regulations, while aligning with international property measurement standards,” said Ayman Sami, Country Head Egypt at JLL. “This could eventually lead to the country committing to a net zero goal and the development of a plan to conserve energy and reduce carbon emissions across new and existing stock, including establishing a national retrofitting program.”

The real estate sector accounts for over 40% of global carbon emissions, according to the World Green Building Council.

Ayman added: “More governments are becoming aware of the drastic effects of buildings’ carbon emissions on the climate, and are starting to mandate energy efficiency and emissions standards for buildings, as well as adopting green building certificates. For Egypt, it is an opportunity to encourage investors, landlords, and occupiers to develop a greener mentality and take their initiatives to act quickly, without waiting for regulatory measures to kick in – given the urgency of the climate emergency.”

It has been found that Egypt, as the host of COP 27, is in a prime position to promote quick, easy, and effective measures to reduce electricity-related greenhouse gas emissions in the real estate sector. These measures include the (retrofitting) installation of LED lighting and photovoltaic solar panels. Egypt's status as a champion of green financing has been bolstered over the years, with the country issuing the first sovereign green bond in the Middle East and North Africa (worth US$750 million) in September 2020 to fund its climate action plan and realise its sustainability aims. However, there are no plans to use the earnings from the debt sale to fund building-related initiatives; rather, 46% of the proceeds will be earmarked for the Cairo monorail and 54% would go toward clean water and wastewater management. Egypt has reported a need for $250 million to implement energy-efficient cooling in buildings and an extra $345 million to adopt energy efficiency and renewable energy measures in hotels and resorts. Climate Action Tracker (CAT) projections show that Egypt would need to cut GHG emissions by at least 25% from 2010 levels if it is to fulfil its temperature goals under the Paris Agreement by 2030.

Achieving Egypt's new Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) temperature goal remains contingent on getting funding of US$246 billion for its mitigation (US$196 billion) and adaptation (US$50 billion) measures. The whitepaper underscored the need for enhancement to accomplish Egypt's Paris Agreement promises, in addition to Egypt's increased aims and ambitions to address climate change. As the built environment is a key contributor to global carbon emissions, the government may further tighten the enforcement of its existing rules, create a long-term net-zero carbon objective, and join other nations in combating climate change.