Category Archives: Middle East

Energy Efficiency Perspectives for UAE

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With Abu Dhabi alone on track to generate more than 10,000 megawatts of electricity for the first time, discussion about improving energy efficiency in the United Arab Emirates is taking on a more critical tone. Daytime energy use in the hot summer months is still experiencing rampant year-on-year growth, with peak demand this year growing by 12 per cent. Lying at the heart of these consumption levels is the need for air conditioning, which accounts for about half of total electricity demand. Business and Government Action At the commercial level, considerable steps are being taken to reduce the Emirate’s carbon … Continue reading →

The Vanishing Aquifers in MENA: An Overview

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Aquifers are of tremendous importance for the MENA as world’s most water-stressed countries are located in the region, including Kuwait, Qatar, UAE, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Iran, Lebanon and Yemen. However, aquifers in MENA are coming under increasing strain and are in real danger of extinction. Eight aquifers systems, including those in MENA, are categorized as ‘over stressed’ aquifers with hardly any natural recharge to offset the water consumed. Aquifers in MENA Aquifers stretched beneath Saudi Arabia and Yemen ranks first among ‘overstressed’ aquifers followed by Indus Basin of northwestern India-Pakistan and then by Murzuk-Djado Basin in North Africa. The Nubian Sandstone Aquifer in … Continue reading →

Desertec: What Went Wrong?

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A plan to power Europe from solar power plants in Sahara desert, popularly known as Desertec, seems to have stalled, but several large North African solar projects are still going ahead despite local concerns. Where did the Desertec project go wrong, and can desert solar power yet play a role in a democratic and sustainable future? If you use social media, you may well have seen a graphic going around, showing a tiny square in the Sahara desert with the caption: ‘This much solar power in the Sahara would provide enough energy for the whole world!’ Can this really be true? It is … Continue reading →

لبنان وتغير المناخ

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وقع لبنان، بلدي المنشأ، على اتفاق باريس في 22 أبريل 2016، في نيويورك. لسوء الحظ، لم يتم التصديق عليه من قبل البرلمان حتى الآن. يستفيد لبنان من اتفاقية باريس اجتماعيا وبيئيا وماديا. يستطيع  لبنان توفير ما يصل إلى 50 مليار دولار في عام2040    إذا التزمت البلدان الموقعة للاتفاقية بعهودها. وحتى بعد مؤتمر الأمم المتحدة لتغير المناخ ٢٢ في مراكش، لا يزال من غير الواضح تماما كيف ستتلقى البلدان النامية على المبلغ السنوي المتفق عليه في باريس. وكما هو واضح في اتفاقية باريس، هناك حاجة لإشراك القطاع الخاص في الخطة المناخية للحكومات. ولا يمكن للبنان أن يحقق هدفه دون إشراك جهات … Continue reading →

Food Security in Lebanon

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Lebanon is clubbed with middle range countries in food security. According to an ESCWA report, 49 percent of Lebanese are reportedly worried about their ability to access enough food, and 31 percent of them stating that they were unable to eat healthy and nutritious food over the course of a year. There is scary statistics related to food security in Lebanon especially after the flow of Syrian refugees. Syria used to be an important route for agriculture activities in Lebanon.  There was an agriculture trade through Syria and with Syria. The bilateral agreement has declined from 2011-2012, which led to the increase … Continue reading →

Energy Efficiency in Saudi Cement Industry

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Saudi Arabia is the largest construction market in the Middle East, with large development projects under way and many more in the planning stage. The cement industry in Saudi Arabia is evolving rapidly and annual clinker production was 75 million tonnes in 2018. The cement industry is one of the highest energy-intensive industries in the world, with fuel and energy costs typically representing 30-40% of total production costs. On an average, the specific electrical energy consumption typically ranges between 90 and 130 kWh per tonne of cement. Keeping in view the huge energy demand of the cement industry, the Saudi … Continue reading →

Biomass Resources in Jordan

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With high population growth rate, increase in industrial and commercial activities, high cost of imported energy fuels and higher GHGs emissions, supply of cheap and clean energy resources has become a challenge for the Jordanian Government. Consequently, the need for implementing renewable energy projects, especially solar, wind, biomass and energy-from-waste, has emerged as a national priority in recent years. Jordan has substantial biomass resources in the form of municipal solid wastes, sewage, industrial wastes and animal manure. Municipal solid wastes represent the best source of biomass in Jordan. Solid waste generation in the country is approximately 2 million tons per … Continue reading →

لحفاظ على التنوع البيولوجي في الأردن

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على الرغم من صغر رقعة الأردن الجغرافية ,إلا أنه يتمتع بغنى وتنوع فريد بالموائل الحيوية والذي يمثل التنوع البيولوجي للأراضي الجافة ,وذلك لتميز الطبيعة الأردنية بتعدد المناخات والتراكيب الجيولوجية, حيث تنقسم البلاد إلى أربع مناطق حيوية جغرافية: منطقه إقليم البحر الأبيض المتوسط، الإقليم الإيراني- الطوراني ،الإقليم الصحراوي (المنطقه الصحراوية العربية) والإقليم السوداني .تعتبر هذه الأقاليم عناصر أساسية في دعم التنوع البيولوجي، وتحتوي على ثلاثة نظم بيئية رئيسية – الأرضية والبحرية والأراضي الرطبة. دور التنوع الحيوي في البيئة الأردنية ساهم التنوع الطبوغرافي في الأردن في وجود تنوع حيوي ومناخي ساعد على ظهور بيئات متنوعة لعبت دوراً هام في التنوع الحيوي والإستقرار … Continue reading →

أهم المشاكل البيئية في الأردن

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يعتبر الأردن مهداً لعدد من الحضارات فلقد تم إنشاء المستوطنات البشرية فيه منذ أوائل التاريخ القديم , وكنتيجة طبيعية لما يشهده العالم من تغيرات كبيرة وكثيرة في كافة المجالات خاصة في مجال الإتصال والمواصلات في أواسط القرن الماضي, ومع تزايد أعداد السكان وتغير نمط حياتهم تتفاقم المشاكل البيئية التي تهدد الفوائد البيئية والإقتصادية والروحية والجمالية والثقافية التي يتم إستنباطها حالياً من الموارد الأرضية الحية .ومما زاد المشكلة سوءاً هو تأثر المملكة بالوضع السياسي في المنطقة وموجات النازحين التي أدت إلى زيادة عدد السكان بشكل غير عادي ومفاجئ وبالتالي فإن الضغط على الموارد الطبيعية كإستعمالات المياه والطاقة شهدت تزايداً ملحوظاً خلال العقود الماضية. تكمن مشاكل … Continue reading →

Renewable Energy Investment in Jordan

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Jordan has tremendous wind, solar and biomass energy potential which can only be realized by large-scale investments. In 2007, the Government of Jordan developed an integrated and comprehensive Energy Master Plan. Renewable energy accounted for only 1% of the energy consumption in Jordan in 2007. However, ambitious targets have been set in the Master Plan to raise the share to 7% in 2015 and 10% in 2020. This transition from conventional fuels to renewable energy resources will require capital investments, technology transfer and human resources development, through a package of investments estimated at US $ 1.4 – 2.2 billion. The … Continue reading →

Water Crisis in Refugee Camps

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The refugee crisis has hit record heights in recent years. According to the UNHCR, as of the end of 2019 there were approximately 79.5 million refugees worldwide. This is a significant increase from a decade ago, when there were 37.5 million refugees worldwide. Syria’s ongoing civil war, with 7.6 million people displaced internally, and 3.88 million people displaced into the surrounding region and beyond as refugees, has alone made the Middle East the world’s largest producer and host of forced displacement. Adding to the high totals from Syria are displacements of at least 2.6 million people in Iraq and 309,000 … Continue reading →

Agricultural Biomass Resources in the MENA Countries

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Agriculture plays an important role in the economies of most of the countries in the Middle East and North Africa region.  Despite the fact that MENA is the most water-scarce and dry region in the world, many countries in the region, especially those around the Mediterranean Sea, are highly dependent on agriculture. The contribution of the agricultural sector to the overall economy varies significantly among countries in the region, ranging, for example, from about 3.2 percent in Saudi Arabia to 13.4 percent in Egypt.  Large scale irrigation coupled with mechanization has enabled extensive production of high-value cash crops, including fruits, … Continue reading →