How the government and private sectors in Egypt contribute to the country's environmental issues (An environmental economic approach)

In recent decades, countries have gone through a process of economic development that has resulted in environmental challenges becoming one of the most important concerns of policy-makers. Finding the primary sources of pollution is the first step in dealing with this problem. The current study focuses on this topic, highlighting the government's responsibility (compared to the private sector), since, theoretically, both government and private economic enterprises may be regarded as sources of pollution. This predicament is seen in the majority of the less-developed and emerging nations, where the governments are heavily involved in the economy. From the perspective that governments are both the cause of pollution and, at the same time, are compelled by their sovereign obligations to safeguard the environment, this debate is worthy of consideration. The present study indicates that Egypt is not excluded from this category. Since the high share of the government in the country's economy, apart from the adverse economic consequences, has created significant environmental challenges. In this article, after stating the situation of pollutants in Egypt, considering the flow of production and release of pollution in recent years, the relative share of government enterprises in the production of pollution has been investigated. The results indicate that the government's contribution to the production of pollution is very significant.