The climate change crisis in the Middle East and North Africa... and renewable energy is not the best treatment

Weather of Arabia - Natural disasters resulting from climate change in the Middle East and North Africa have become more influential than others around the world, which means the necessity of moving beyond just the energy transition, and focusing on mitigating risks, to avoid crises at all levels, especially in the field of providing... Water.

The former Minister of Economy and former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon, Dr. Nasser Al-Saidi, reviewed the dimensions of the climate change crisis on the Middle East and North Africa region. He said in an article recently published by the Arabian Gulf Business Inside newspaper, and reviewed by the specialized energy platform, that the Libyan Derna floods are a deadly reminder of how climate change will increase the frequency and strength of hurricanes in the Mediterranean. He pointed out that the devastating effects of climate change in the Middle East and North Africa are not much different from the floods in Pakistan, which were the worst in a decade and forced 33 million people to leave their homes.

He explained that the two incidents revealed poor infrastructure and its maintenance, and indicated the possibility of repeating disasters resulting from climate change anywhere in the world.

Climate breakdown in the Middle East and North Africa

Dr. Nasser Al-Saidi said that climate change incidents in the Middle East and North Africa prompted the United Nations to describe it as one of the regions vulnerable to climate collapse. This means that the region is exposed to extreme weather phenomena, high temperatures, increased pressure on water sources, rising sea levels, affected rainfall and agricultural crops, in addition to increased desertification, according to the author. Despite the commitments of the world and the region to the energy transition, it is an illusion to believe that humanity is able to overcome geographical division and conflicting interests to develop radical solutions that reduce temperature by 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2030, and 2.5 degrees Celsius by 2050.

Because of the phenomenon of global warming leading to climate change and resulting from intense emissions from human activities, countries of the world are seeking to limit the rise in temperature to these levels above their level before the industrial revolution, according to reports seen by the specialized energy platform.

“This means moving beyond reliance on renewable energy and electricity storage to massive and sustainable investment in climate-resilient infrastructure and associated technologies.”

Water wars

Global statistics indicate that water demand will rise by 20-25% by 2050. This means that 100% of the population of the MENA region will face severe pressure on water resources. If we do not take steps to avoid this, it will lead to increased political tension and the outbreak of water wars, according to Dr. Nasser Al-Saidi, founder and president of Nasser Al-Saidi & Partners, in a recent article.

Avoiding water wars and crises resulting from climate change in the Middle East and North Africa requires cooperation between the countries of the region and the management of the extensive resources in several countries, such as the Nile and Euphrates rivers.

It is noteworthy that Egypt is threatened by a shortage of water coming to it from Ethiopia due to the construction of the Renaissance Dam and Addis Ababa’s unilateral move to fill the dam’s reservoir, and not submitting to any agreements, and the same thing Iraq is suffering from because of Turkey, which possesses the largest amount of water from the Euphrates River.

It is worth noting that seawater desalination in the Arabian Gulf region represents a point of light and optimal exploitation of climate change financing, noting that the Arab Gulf countries have a competitive advantage in the field of seawater desalination and possess 50% of the global capacity. This percentage will also increase by 37% over the next five years, as these countries intend to pump investments worth $100 billion.

Energy and water security

Since seawater desalination depends on renewable energy in the Gulf region, this means that it works to achieve energy and water security together, according to the founder and president of Nasser Al-Saidi and Partners. In the giant NEOM city project, Saudi Arabia has developed technologies to desalinate seawater with renewable energy, similarly in the Emirates and the Sultanate of Oman.

After the experience, the Gulf countries can export these technologies, as well as new district cooling technologies that they have begun to adopt and develop, to reduce dependence on air conditioning devices that operate with old technologies.

It is estimated that as temperatures rise, the use of air conditioners, and with it energy consumption, will increase by more than 70%.

The Gulf countries are pioneers in using and employing district cooling technologies in public facilities, real estate, and urban development, and the Gulf countries can export these technologies to the rest of the Middle East, Africa, South Asia, and other regions. These cooling technologies can contribute to adaptation efforts and save about a trillion dollars in energy costs by 2035. Gulf sovereign wealth funds are among the largest investors in the renewable energy sector.

They have financial centers that are constantly developing tools that facilitate access to financing for climate technology companies, and with the financial power of the Gulf countries exceeding $4 trillion, these countries have become promising and qualified to become a global center for climate financing and climate technologies.

With the UAE hosting the COP28 climate summit next November, wealth funds and money market companies, in addition to active private sector entities, are expected to increase their investments in various infrastructure sectors necessary to withstand climate change in the Middle East and North Africa and technologies. Necessary, according to the writer.

Source: energy