Page 4 - Issue 39

ELITE Vol.1, Issue 39, January 2022
Vol.1, Issue 39, January

because of my tendency for discussion and persuasion, as was the like clean energy requires the main energy grid to allow the
case at home. I enjoyed my time in the faculty as a student, but I usage of clean energy, especially the process of energy
loved it even more when I started teaching there, and then I formed storage, as it is the most expensive phase in this regard.
friendships with my former professors. Therefore, I have always dreamed - especially in light of
Egypt's hosting of COP27 for climate change and the current
● Despite your major in statistics, your doctoral dissertation at the mega projects such as the administrative capital - of a truly
University of Gothenburg in Sweden was about environmental green smart city, but I understand that this requires huge
economics - of course it’s challenging to convince people of the investments and a shift of general culture as well. However, I
economic feasibility of protecting the environment and facing believe that the Egyptian culture has potential of adaptation
climate change - in your opinion, what are the most important to such a change yet, the cultural development must be
economic feasibility points for protecting the environment and accompanied by institutional policies and supervision. I
facing climate change? remember the time when the whole world started the use of
Understanding the economic feasibility of protecting the lead-free petrol and in a strange phenomenon, Egypt was the
environment must come first from the political leadership and must only country that was able to reduce the percentage of lead in
be accompanied by numerical proof. For example, the transition to gasoline to zero overnight and not gradually, and this was a
clean energy requires huge investments at first, but leads, in the long result of awareness in decision-making.
run, to a lower cost and a greater return. Therefore, we must take
into account not only the operation and maintenance costs of clean ● Among your rich career is your selection as the Secretary-
energy, but also the cost of environmental degradation and its General for the National Council for Childhood and
impact on the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Another example is Motherhood. Tell us about that experience, what it added to
the campus - here - in the Administrative Capital, we have been you and what you added to it?
keen, from the beginning, on making it a “green campus”, and this
had many consequences, including those related to smoking, waste My selection for this position took me by surprise, because I
recycling and planning for the use of solar energy. Speaking of the was initially offered the position of the director of the
economic feasibility of restricting smoking, it achieves affects both National Population Council, since population issues was
the personal and society level as well. As it saves for the individual
a large portion from his income by reducing expenses in that one of my interests as one of the aspects of economic
direction, or perhaps a subsequent expense in health care, and also development, and not as the Secretary-General for the
reduces the state health care expenses owing to the treatment of National Council for Childhood and Motherhood. At that
many non-communicable diseases due to smoking. Another issue is time, the Minister of Population was Prof. Dr. Hala Youssef,
garbage, and here in the campus we adopted the Sorting method to and I was surprised by her offer for me to be the Secretary-
provide a greater opportunity for waste recycling. But all these General for the National Council for Childhood and
attempts need the generalization of implementation, because a topic Motherhood instead. At that time, I was teaching at the
Faculty of Economics and Political Science, in addition to

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