Abstract:
This research addresses two of Egypt‟s prominent challenges during the current phase
of hardship, namely, energy and water scarcity. According to the International Energy
Agency (2015) report, Egypt has been suffering from a decline in energy production due
to shortages in natural gas supply and oil production being unable to keep up with the
energy demand, where the Egyptian Electric Holding Company's annual report of
showed the main consumer of electricity in Egypt is the residential sector
which accounts for 44.2% of the total consumption. On the other hand, EcoMENA
stated that Egypt faces an annual deficit of water of around 7 billion cubic meters,
they also mentioned that the United Nations is warning that the country could run out of
the water by 2025. Furthermore, The Egyptian Ministry of Water and Irrigation's (2014)
report on water scarcity in Egypt demonstrated that the agricultural sector contributes
about 20% to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the Egyptian economy, and provides
about 40% of total employment. Such sector consumes over 85% of the total demand on
water. In view of such increase in the domestic demand on energy and water, and the fact
that the development of Egypt's economy strongly depends on its ability to conserve and
manage its water resources, the need for research into the underlying factors behind the
energy and water consumption patterns is increasing, yet, studies conducted in the
Egyptian context with regards to sustainable consumption are basically focused on
sustainable purchases with no regard to conservation behavior, and had minimal to no
focus on energy and water
