Topic: 2025 – Impact of Climate Change on Air Quality
Country: Egypt
Delegate Name: Lucia Ruiz
Egypt is directly affected by poor air quality and it is an increasing problem for the health of their citizens. Road transport, industrial power plant emissions, mismanagement of waste, agricultural slash and burn practices, domestic and commercial combustion, and other burning of natural substances all connect to the deteriorating air quality and are contributors to climate change. Climate change has not just affected the air quality it has also affected the water resources, agriculture, length and severity of heatwaves and droughts, rising sea levels,etc. Egypt is ready to take further action to cease the effects of climate change/air quality to create a better future for the country.
Egypt has a very large population to start with and the large densely populated cities are severely affected by air pollution. Around 2 million people per year seek medical treatment for respiratory issues due to poor air quality. Annual temperatures in Egypt are predicted to rise 2-3 degrees celsius by 2050 because of climate change which will only worsen the situation. Transport accounts for about 33% of PM2.5 air pollution. Most people use private transportation causing major congestion on the roads while public transport is not utilized to its full extent because of infrastructure issues. Agricultural slash and burn accounts for 20% of PM2.5 air pollution as an impact of lack of access to technology for farmers to dispose of waste. Industrial power accounts for 17% of PM2.5 air pollution, most of these industries are based on natural resources and have inadequate waste treatment facilities.
Global efforts have been taken in recent years to limit air pollution through the World Bank such as The Paris Agreement and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by setting guidelines to reduce air pollution. This focuses on limiting future air pollution. Egypt has also created the 2030 sustainable development strategy. The main objectives of the strategy are preserving the environment, creating a sustainable ecosystem, and reducing PM10 (small particle matter such as liquid or soil particles that contribute to air pollution) concentrations by 50% by 2030. This strategy also includes points on switching to more sustainable energy systems which would contribute to minimizing carbon emissions.
The World Bank has provided support for Egypt through organizations such as The Greater Cairo Air Pollution Management and Climate Change Project, The Pollution Management and Environmental Health Project (PMEH), and The Sustainable Persistent Organic Pollutants Management Project. The Greater Cairo Air Pollution Management and Climate Change Project was created in 2020 backed by the Egyptian government. This organization aims to update the air quality management system, support solid waste management and create guidelines for waste management, and provide electric buses for public use and support other parts of the public transport infrastructure. PMEH created in 2015 aimed to do research on the cause of air pollution and the health effects stemming from it. Finally, The Sustainable Persistent Organic Pollutants Management Project created in 2014 aimed to remove and safely dispose of 2,000 tons of obsolete pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls.
Although Egypt has taken these efforts to improve air quality and control their contributions to climate change the conflict is still persistent. In a recent estimate the annual cost of air pollution on health in just Cairo is about 1.4% of Egypt’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product). We are committed to finding long term solutions to our poor air quality problem. The delegation of Egypt is open to collaborating with other delegations to discuss plans for the future of climate change/air quality. We understand the impact of climate change on the environment, health of our citizens and impact on our economy which is why we hope to create a strong plan for the future.
Work Cited
“Cairo and Air Pollution – Clean Air Fund.” Clean Air Fund, 22 Nov. 2023, www.cleanairfund.org/clean-air-africas-cities/cairo.
World Bank Group. “Supporting Pollution Reduction Efforts to Protect the Health of Egyptians and Spur Economic Recovery.” World Bank, 22 Apr. 2021, www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2021/04/22/supporting-pollution-reduction-efforts-to-protect-the-health-of-egyptians.
IQAir. “Egypt Air Quality Index (AQI) and Air Pollution Information | IQAir.” IQAir, www.iqair.com/us/egypt.
“Policies and Action.” Climate Action Tracker, climateactiontracker.org/countries/egypt/policies-action.
Daito, Nobuhiko, et al. “Reducing Air Pollution in Greater Cairo Involves Switching From Private Vehicles to Improved Public Transport.” World Bank Blogs, 16 Mar. 2024, blogs.worldbank.org/en/arabvoices/reducing-air-pollution-greater-cairo-involves-switching-private-vehicles-improved-public.
