Khaled FAHMY

A distinguished environmental economist and policy expert with over 40 years of experience in sustainable environmental management, climate action, and institutional development, H.E. Dr Fahmy’s career reflects a unique blend of academic rigor, executive leadership, and hands-on project implementation, making him a respected authority in advancing global sustainability agendas. His Excellency served as Egypt’s Minister of Environment (2012-2013, and 2014-2018), leading initiatives such as waste management reforms, biodiversity conservation, and air quality improvement, including the resolution of Cairo’s longstanding black cloud issue through market-based solutions. As Egypt’s Head of delegation at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP21) in Paris, France, he played an instrumental role in the Paris Agreement negotiations. And as the President of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) at the time, H.E. successfully built consensus among the African group on Articles 6 and 7 of the Paris Agreement. His efforts were recognized by the African Union (AU), AMCEN, and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), in Nairobi, Kenya, on 19 September 2018, for unprecedented leadership of African countries in the negotiations. His expertise spans environmental policy formulation, economic tools for sustainability, and the design and implementation of large-scale environmental programmes. Dr Fahmy has also advised regional and international institutions on climate policy, including serving as Climate Action and Sustainability Advisor at the Emirates Centre for Strategic Research and Studies (2023–2024), where he established a department focused on sustainability and strategic climate research. He also led projects integrating environmental economics with sustainable development, such as USAID-funded programmes supporting green entrepreneurship, circular economy practices, and carbon footprint reduction. He designed and managed technical cooperation projects with multilateral agencies (World Bank, USAID, UNDP) to strengthen environmental institutions, monitoring systems, and compliance frameworks; and as a Professor of Environmental Economics at Egypt’s Institute of National Planning, he has also mentored countless future leaders, and authored over 20 studies on environmental economics and management, with recent focus on life cycle assessments, environmental disclosure, and sustainability reporting.