A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Ministries of Environment and Industry and UNDP for updating the database of industrial institutions and issuing joint environmental indicators.

The MoU aims to set the priorities of both ministries, which include the enhancement of environmental governance and combat of industrial pollution and dangerous waste. It calls for boosting collaboration among health councils and industrial permits committees.

The database will allow the Ministry of Environment (MoE) to calculate the amount of greenhouse gas released by the industrial sector. The partnership gives industrial firms financial, technical, and marketing initiatives.

The three parties will cooperate in implementing a grant of $200,000 by the World Bank’s Global Environment Facility to modernize the National Program for Persistent Organic Pollutants and activate environmental control in industrial institutions.

The MoU launched preparations for the second phase of the plans to remove HCFC (Hydrochlorofluocarbons) from market use. The phase will be carried out between 2015 and 2025 following a grant agreement of $170,000 by the Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol.

Minister of Environment Mohammad Machnouk said: “The MoU is the first of a series that we have prepared to strengthen ministerial collaboration.”
Minister of Industry Hussein Hajj Hassan said: “The majority of factories are of the third, fourth, and fifth categories. Environmental standards of these categories need modernization. The database will help reduce the environmental impact of the sector.”

There are about 7,000 factories operating in the local market, most of which are non-polluting.