Egypt’s CO2 emissions up by 1.8 percent: CAPMAS

CAIRO - 5 June 2018: The Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) has reported a rise in Egypt's carbon dioxide emissions resulting from petroleum products and natural gas consumption.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, CAPMAS said emissions for 2016/2017 were 210 million tons, compared with 206.2 million tons in 2015/2016, making an increase of 1.8 percent.

Tuesday's statement coincides with World Environment Day, celebrated on June 5 every year, on which governments, scientists, NGOs and activists seek to highlight pressing environmental issues such as global warming.

According to the CAPMAS statement, the biggest single source of carbon dioxide emissions in Egypt is the electricity sector, which is a large consumer of petroleum products, accounting for 43.3 percent of the nation's total CO2 emissions during 2016/2017.

The other major contributors were: the transport sector, with 18.5 percent; the industrial sector, with 15.4 percent; and the domestic and trade sectors with 8.2 percent.

The total amount of electricity generated from renewable energy — including hydroelectricity, wind power and solar power — also increased in recent years, according to CAPMAS.

Renewables accounted for 15.7 thousand GWh in 2015/2016, compared with 15.3 thousand GWh in 2013/2014.