* Establishing a national alliance to develop mechanisms to confront risks… and increasing financing for green projects to ensure the sustainability of our exports… teaching concepts of risk reduction in universities… and expanding the construction of smart cities with environmentally friendly components.
Ammon – The first Egypt Risk Reduction Summit, in Cairo, under the slogan “Towards Effective Change” in its first edition, concluded its work with great success under the auspices of the Ministries of Environment, Planning and Economic Development, and with the distinguished participation of Dr. Yasmine Fouad, Minister of Environment, and Dr. Sherif Al-Gabali, Head of the Chemical Industries Chamber of the Union of Chemical Industries. Egyptian industries. The summit aimed to shed light on the concept of risk reduction, reduce the negative effects of wrong practices on the environment, health and society, and create a platform to present successful experiences with an economic dimension to society in a way that supports development goals in light of Egypt’s 2030 vision.
The opening session witnessed a speech by His Excellency Dr. Yasmine Fouad, Minister of Environment, during which she reviewed the Ministry’s efforts to reduce the risks of climate change and the Ministry’s system in dealing with medical and electronic waste. Dr. Sherif Al-Jabali also addressed the challenges facing the sector to maintain export rates in light of a global trend towards the economy. Green while adopting policies to reduce risks to ensure the achievement of Egypt’s Vision 2030. Engineer Heba Hammad, General Director of Standards at the Egyptian General Organization for Standardization and Quality, responsible for the environment and climate change file at the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), spoke about establishing an artificial intelligence committee to reduce the risks of circulating information in an unsafe manner.
The first session was titled “Reducing Risks to Health Aspects,” where participants discussed presenting innovative scientific methods that aim to reduce health risks resulting from natural environmental factors and wrong human habits and behaviors, with a focus on the importance of early detection and effective treatment of diseases, including, Cancer and cardiovascular health. The session topics included how to prevent skin cancer and reduce the risks of unhelpful sunlight, promoting healthy diets, and increasing physical activity to reduce the risks of heart and lung injuries and smoking-related diseases, with the participation of Dr. Constantinos Farsalinos, researcher. Scientific at the University of Patras, Greece, Dr. Helmy Adnan Darwish, specialist in chest diseases and president of the Lebanese Society of Chest Diseases in the North, Dr. Adel Khattab, professor of chest diseases at Ain Shams University, Dr. Mohamed Zidan, professor of chest diseases and allergies, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University, Dr. / Rania Mamdouh, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Kasr Al-Ainy School of Medicine, Fellow at the University of California Los Angeles in Addiction Treatment Research, and Dr. Peter Harper, Consultant Medical Oncologist in Britain, and one of the founders of the London Oncology Clinic, who participated via Zoom technology, and the session was moderated by Dr. Mahmoud Al-Battanouni. Professor and Head of Chest and Allergy Departments at Al-Azhar College of Medicine.
The second session dealt with “How to achieve dual benefits for companies and society by reducing risks as a mutual benefit.” It discussed the positive impact of risk reduction strategies on the private sector in terms of reducing costs, energy efficiency, and reducing their negative impacts on the environment. At the same time, the session highlighted Highlighting how these practices contribute to society in terms of improving the quality of life for the individual and the personal health and well-being of the citizen. With the participation of an elite group of distinguished speakers representing a wide range of fields, including Engineer Basil Shaira, Head of the Industrial Development Division at the Federation of Industries and General Manager of Polaris Parks, Professor Sherif Hamouda, Chairman of the Board of Directors of GV Investments, and Professor Ankush. Arora, CEO of Al-Mansour Automotive Group, Mr. Ayman Essam, Head of the External Relations and Legal Affairs Sector at Vodafone Egypt, and Eng. Ahmed Taleb, Executive Director of Marketing and Sales at Al-Jazeera Paints Company. The session was moderated by the Lebanese media figure and economic expert, Maurice Matta.
The sessions ended with the issuance of several recommendations, which the participants demanded to be quickly implemented in order to reduce the health, environmental and social risks that threaten society.
1- Establishing a national alliance between companies operating in Egypt with the participation of all concerned parties to establish the foundations and standards for determining mechanisms for confronting risks
2-The necessity of teaching curricula that encourage risk reduction within Egyptian universities, which will improve the handling of natural resources, reduce the risks of climate change, and preserve the safety of the environment.
3- Promoting a culture of risk reduction as part of our society in its daily practices. The earlier we deal with the risks expected to occur, the sooner we will be able to confront them and the less the cost of confronting these risks will be.
4- Promoting the concept of risk reduction in the health care sector and the importance of applying it in various medical specialties such as mental health, oncology, chest diseases and heart diseases to improve the general health of Egyptians.
5- Adopting risk reduction policies in accordance with international laws to ensure the sustainability of Egyptian exports abroad
6- Addressing the European Union to extend the period for starting to impose import duties on carbon-emitting products, scheduled to take effect in 2026.
7- To expand the establishment of hazardous waste recycling plants, health-wise and electronically, to reduce the risks of the spread of cancerous diseases
8- Increase financing for green and sustainable projects that aim to apply technologies to improve energy efficiency in various industrial sectors
9-Unifying efforts towards promoting the green economy to support the state’s plan to enhance Egyptian exports to the European Union and other countries
10- Reducing the prices of renewable energy, to encourage investors to rely more on it, to shift completely to green industries
11- Relying on electric cars to reduce pollution by 30-40% to reduce carbon emissions
12- Expanding the establishment of green cities with all their components using environmentally friendly raw materials
The first Egypt Risk Reduction Summit, sponsored by Vodafone Egypt, Al Jazeera Paints, Philip Morris Egypt, and Hyde Park Real Estate Development, brought together an elite group of experts and specialists, including the government and the private sector, to promote risk reduction strategies and principles that are in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. It highlighted the importance of partnership between the government and the private sector in establishing green projects that contribute to economic development, preserve the environment, and spread the thought and culture of reducing risks to society.
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