Green buildings for Egypt: a call for an integrated policy

As global warming is on the threshold of each country worldwide, Middle East and North African (MENA) region has already adopted energy efficiency (EE) policies on several consuming sectors. The present paper valuates the impact of temperature increase in the residential building sector of Egypt that is the most integrated example of the 7 out of the 20 MENA countries that have started their green efforts upon building environment. Furthermore, as it is based on a literature research upon socio-economic characteristics, existing building stock, existing legal and institutional framework, it elaborates a quantitative evaluation of Egypt's energy-saving potential, outlining basic constraints upon energy conservation, in order for Egypt to be able to handle the high energy needs due to its warm climate. Last but not least, the paper proposes a policy pathway for the implementation of green building codes and concludes with the best available technologies to promote EE in the Egyptian building sector.