Environment Minister Laila Rashed Iskander raised concerns on Monday about growing misuses of energy sources, saying that industrial companies are looking to increase coal use while over 35 million tons of energy-rich organic waste from post-harvest remnants were burned and squandered.
“We live in a state of chaos now,” the minister said; “a large number of brick factories began using natural gas but now want to switch to coal because of its cheap price.” Her comments came during a meeting of the ministerial working committee for energy held on Monday led by Essam Hagy, advisor to interim President Adly Mansour.
Yet while industrial factories show signs of turning to coal, biomass from post-harvest remnants, a potential source of energy, is misspent in annual burnings. Over 35 million tons of post-harvest remnants from rice, straw, and sugar cane harvests was “burned uselessly,” Minister Iskander said, “at a time people should use it to produce energy.”
The minister said that given the negative impact of coal on both the environment and on individual health, “we cannot choose to use coal.”
She said that the ministry does not oppose investment and does not want to stall production of factories that increase using coal, but at the same time the ministry is working to protect the environment and applying citizens’ health from the harmful effects of coal.
Iskandar added that the day would come when the coal will run out, as with other types of energy.
Originally published in Youm7.