Dr. Yasmine Fouad: Egypt’s Global Environmental Champion

For over 27 years, Dr. Yasmine Fouad has shaped environmental policy, climate diplomacy, and sustainable development through a lens rarely seen at the global level: one that blends scientific rigor with human empathy. In December 2025, Dr. Fouad, Egypt’s former Minister of Environment and the current Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), was awarded the Nobel Sustainability Medal in recognition of her environmental leadership.

In her acceptance message, Dr. Fouad dedicated the medal “to the women who rebuild their communities, the young people who refuse to inherit despair, the workers who turn scarcity into innovation, and the families who choose hope every day.”

Under Dr. Yasmine Fouad’s leadership as Egypt’s Minister of Environment from 2018 to 2025, Egypt hosted COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, which brought over 30,000 participants from all over the world to advance climate negotiations. During the conference, Dr. Fouad championed adaptation and resilience, elevating the needs of vulnerable communities to the heart of global climate negotiations. During her tenure as minister, the country also launched a modern waste management system, issued the region’s first sovereign green bond, and created nearly 20,000 green jobs.

In this interview with CairoScene, Dr. Fouad speaks not only about the achievements of her inspiring career as a woman and mother of two sons, but also about the pressing challenges of desertification and the new approach the UNCCD is taking to combat it under her leadership.