Platonic environment dreams and the reality of investment sectors
Dreams of the Platonic environment and the reality of investment sectors
The famous philosopher “Plato” may not have realized that many centuries after his death, his name would still be repeated not only in academic circles, but also on the lips of many when satirizing perfectionists and idealists. Perhaps this is the case among the vast majority of officials and defenders of environmental affairs, out of their desire to establish a utopia in which environmental considerations are a constitution and a law, in complete isolation from the reality in which we live, and the indispensable requirements of development no matter the cost.
It is no secret to anyone that there is a permanent and ongoing conflict betweenThe environmental camp – and the executive, academic and legislative institutions it represents – and the investment camp – and the industrial and service institutions it represents – as the former focuses on everything that preserves the environment and its elements at all costs, without paying attention to any other consideration, while the latter works to achieve its profit goals and protect its interests whatever the means, in complete absence. Muawiyah felt the relationship between both camps.
Balancing between two imperatives
Everything we see – and what we do not see – around us has a different impact on the environment, but in general we find that the negative impact is a constant and essential part of everything. Even those things that are promoted as being environmentally friendly still carry within them a negative impact, even if it is simple. For example, solar energy negatively affects land use and the native habitats of many creatures, and uses many hazardous materials, while wind energy negatively affects migratory birds and many other local birds, and even humans themselves – if we look at the matter objectively – have a permanent negative impact on the environment.
Therefore, when evaluating theenvironmental impactof any activity, we must take into account other aspects that have a broader impact. Just as the mining and manufacture of iron and steel is an environmentally polluting process, steel is used in the manufacture of equipment for generating renewable energy, the manufacture of electric cars, etc., and just as cement is a very polluting industry for the environment, it represents the basic material in building basic facilities and infrastructure that operate. All of them aim to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); There are many other examples that cannot be covered in this article.
From this standpoint, we must have a comprehensive understanding and full awareness to achieve a balance between two imperatives: preserving the environment and continuing development. To be like two wings for the renaissance and progress of our country. Without preserving the environment there is no life, and without continued development there is no life either.
Crisis of legislation and implementation
Unfortunately, what we mentioned in the previous paragraph is something that is absent from the minds of the vast majority of organizers ofEnvironmental Affairsin many countries, including Egypt! We see this in the form of specialized legislation that is not applicable on the ground, as the investor is forced to circumvent it, or even leave the local market because of it. Perhaps one of the recent examples of this is the Ministry of Environment’s Resolution No. (49) of 2021, which obligated cement factories to use a minimum percentage of rejected fuel derived from “RDF” in the energy mix.
The decision appears to be a positive step towards reducing dependence on fossil fuels in the cement industry, in addition to protecting the environment from large amounts of waste. However, the decision did not differentiate between gray cement factories and white cement, as it is technically impossible to apply it to the white cement industry due to its negative impact on the brightness of the color of the final product. The decision did not establish a clear and transparent mechanism to ensure its application, so we find ourselves facing a complex situation that has confused the investment sector without Urgent.
This narrow understanding – at the executive and senior governmental levels – spreads its influence to reach environmental inspectors and others in various ministries, and it is what we hear about in the form of news about a giant industrial or service institution being stopped from work, with a report written by an employee for a flimsy reason that may not be in violation of the law in the first place.
Libra Pomegranate
The aim of this presentation is not to downplay the impact of the investment sector on the environment, nor to exaggerate the environment’s obstruction to the investment sector, but rather to highlight the absence of the tip of the scale in an equation whose two sides are opposite and complementary at the same time, which is something that disturbs investment in a country that is most in need of it, and creates a state of imaginary commitment to legislation and regulations divorced from reality.
