Egyptian Minister of Environment opens STE18: Cleaner Mobility and the advent of Electric Vehicles

Driven by a fast growing need for establishing an electric mobility system as an important developmental priority for Egypt, the second conference on Sustainable Transport in Egypt was held under the theme of Electric Mobility. STE2018 was co-organized by the Egyptian Ministry of Environment, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) and CEDARE on the 24^th & 25^th of October, 2018 in Cairo Marriott Hotel.

The forum aimed to catalyze experience exchange and foster partnerships to advance cleaner transportation in Egypt and contribute to measures that address air pollution and climate change. During the two-day event, internationally renowned e-mobility experts and policy makers joined in to share experiences about deployment of EVs and EV infrastructure in various countries, including an in-depth exploration of the case of Jordan as a country of similar income levels, as well as overviews of cases in China and Germany, among others. In addition, the state- of-play in Egypt has also been shared by key national stakeholders.

Due to the important role that the transport sector plays in urban development and its effect in air pollution in the main cities of Egypt, there is a need for an umbrella for e-mobility system and policies; a single vision for the country to facilitate policies and legislation and provide infrastructure and discuss the support needs and feasibility of that system to maximize their utilization on social, economic, environmental and health dimensions.

The closing session pointed out the following recommendations:

• There is an urgent need for designing an integrated EV system for the Egyptian market and promoting partnerships to support cleaner mobility as one of the measures that reduces emissions and air pollutions and control climate change.
• It is important to start a community dialogue with all related stakeholders (industrial, commercial, environmental) as well as supporting international and national partnerships based on the UN’s Green Economy Roadmap, which strongly depends on innovation in the transport sector, whether public or private, and the transformation into sustainable transport through deployment of EVs that best suits the Egyptian context and its mechanisms, taking into consideration Egypt’s high potential as an industrial and commercial hub for EVs.
• The vital role of Experience exchange between different countries about EVs; infrastructure, application, and know-how.

It’s noteworthy that CEDARE has been active in promoting fuel efficiency in the transport sector through the Global Fuel Economy Initiative (GFEI) and Partnership for Cleaner Fuels and Vehicles (PCFV) in partnership with UN Environment and a large network of sustainable mobility stakeholders around the globe. In December 2016, an experience exchange seminar titled “Sustainable Transportation in Egypt 2016 [STE2016]” was organized by CEDARE to raise awareness about sustainable mobility and advocate relevant policies and discourses (full coverage available on STE2016 playlists on CEDARE’s YouTube channel, CEDARE Online). It was initiated with the intention to hold the event on a biennial basis.

The draft policy brief is available here for comments and consultations until 15^th of November, 2018. The final draft will be uploaded once comments and recommendations are incorporated.