Egypt Expected to Sell Gas to Europe While Boosting Renewables After $500 Million Deal With U.S. and Germany

The U.S., Germany and the EU, and Egypt announced a deal Friday in which Egypt will eschew burning 5 GW of methane gas in exchange for a $500 million finance package enabling the country to build 10 GW of renewable energy generation capacity.

Though not touted in the announcement, the deal will also likely result in Egypt selling the methane gas it doesn’t burn to Europe, which is desperate to find non-Russian sources of methane gas.

At COP27, President Biden also said the U.S. would work with Egypt to reduce methane pollution by capturing gas currently flared, vented, or leaking from its gas operations.

As reported by The Washington Post:

Friday’s announcement coincides with Egypt releasing new climate targets, which includes a commitment to quadruple the country’s share of renewable energy in the power sector to 42 percent by 2030, according to the White House.

“It is good news for the global climate that U.S. President Biden has come to COP27 today,” Germany’s climate envoy Jennifer Morgan said in a statement. “The U.S. is one of our closest allies and we are working closely together to combat the climate crisis. With today’s agreement, we are joining hands with Egypt to move together towards a more sustainable future.”

During his speech at COP27, Biden emphasized that “every major emitter nation needs to align” with the goal to limit Earth’s warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) above preindustrial levels.

For a deeper dive:

The Washington Post, Politico Pro, Climate Home, AP, Politico

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