Tag Archives: Energy

Waste-to-Energy in Jordan: Potential and Challenges

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Effective sustainable solid waste management is of great importance both for people’s health and for environmental protection. In Jordan, insufficient financial resources, growing population, rapid urbanization, inadequate management and lacking of technical skills represent a serious environmental challenge confronting local government. At the same time, energy remains Jordan’s top challenge for development. The energy needs to be produced in a sustainable way, preferably from renewable sources which have a minimum environmental impact. To face the future problems in waste management, as well as securing the demand of renewable energy, it is necessary to reuse the wasted resources in energy production. … Continue reading →

Water-Energy Nexus in the United Arab Emirates

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The United Arab Emirates has been witnessing fast-paced economic growth as well as rapid increase in population during the last couple of decades. As a result, the need for water and energy has increased significantly and this trend is expected to continue into the future. Water in the UAE comes from four different sources – groundwater (44%), desalinated seawater (42%), treated wastewater (14%), and surface water (1%). Most of the groundwater and treated seawater are used for irrigation and landscaping while desalinated seawater is used for drinking, household, industrial, and commercial purposes. Water consumption per capita in UAE is more … Continue reading →

Energy Sector in Arab Countries

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The Arab energy sector has played and will continue to play an important role in the regional as well as global economy. In addition to satisfying energy needs for economic and social development, it is the source of oil and gas export revenues contributing to economic development. The Arab oil and gas sector represents the largest economic sector in the region. Increase of oil revenues were the main drivers for economic development in most of the Arab oil producing countries. The Arab economies, as well, are heavily dependent on oil and gas to meet their domestic energy demand. Oil contributes … Continue reading →

The Islamic Discourse on Climate Change

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Global ecological trends show that we face the risk of tipping points and irreversible changes in the environment and in its capacity to support and sustain human life in all its dimensions.  This state of imbalance and pollution is referred to as “fassad” in Islam which is attributed to human-made actions. Transforming society and the world’s economy to a sustainable basis presents the most significant challenge to the 21st century. It is inspiring to harness local knowledge and culture to inform sustainability. Islam as a worldview and a way of life can provide a fresh outlook to human-environmental in a … Continue reading →

Sustainability Perspectives for Amman

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Is Amman a sustainable city? No, it is not. That isn’t a very surprising statement if you’ve ever lived in or visited Amman. By all means, it’s a beautiful city, with plenty to offer visitors and residents alike. It is a diverse city with a wide range of experiences to offer between East and West Amman or Downtown to Abdoun. The fact remains however that it is not a very sustainable city. We as residents are not being kind to the city we call home. When I look at Amman I happen to see all the things I like, but also all … Continue reading →

Women and the Environment: Perspectives from Arabia

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Women and the environment are closely interlinked, throughout history, different nations glorified women as powerful symbols of nature, and nature has always been given the female characteristics: care, reproduction and life-giving. Nevertheless, women’s involvement in the preservation of the environment has seldom been recognized and documented in the histories of several nations. One of the most significant phenomena in the last decades is recognition of women rights to achieve sustainable development; many international agreements reflected this recognition, including Rio Declaration in 1992, which stresses the point of the centrality of the full women participation to achieve environmental sustainability. The UN … Continue reading →

Green Finance: Powering a Sustainable Tomorrow

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Green finance provides linkage between the financial industry, protection of the environment and economic growth. Simply speaking, green finance refers to use of financial products and services, such as loans, insurance, stocks, private equity and bonds in green (or eco-friendly) projects. Green finance, which has grown by leaps and bounds in recent years, provides public well-being and social equity while reducing environmental risks and improving ecological integrity. For example, global interest in green energy finance is increasing at a rapid pace – in 2019, investments in green energy reached the figure of US$ 282.2 billion, which underscores the significance of … Continue reading →

Climate Change Awareness in Jordan: An Overview

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Climate change has become a global concern in recent decades and Jordan is no exception. According to IPPC, scientific evidences show that the earth experienced an average warming of around 0.7°C during the 20th century, and are projected to warm by up to 4°C by the end of the 21st century. Scientific studies reveal an increase in annual minimum air temperatures in Jordan since 1970s. The increase of mean temperature indicates a slight regional climate change, while decreasing temperature range proves that the earth is trapping terrestrial infrared radiation responsible for climate change. Besides, researchers predict further increase in the mean annual … Continue reading →

Green Resolutions for the New Year

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This year, in addition to our personal goals, let us make another New Year resolution: to make this year the year we really ‘go green’. Supporting environmental initiatives should be one of our main priorities and needs to be reflected through our green resolutions and commitment to safeguard it against all forms of pollution and to protect our fragile and finite resources. Depending on our age, work, location etc., our priorities may be different but our actions should be in unison towards environmental protection. We need to understand that we have very recklessly plundered the global resources in a short … Continue reading →

Energy Efficiency Initiatives at the Hashemite University

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The Hashemite University environmental sustainability policy is focused on achieving sufficiency and sustainability through energy reduction practices, along with energy efficient approaches, building techniques, and electromechanical devices. These measures were employed in all of the new building expansion on campus (with more than 70,000 m2) of newly added building area. These practices are divided into categories: passive and active. Passive Measures Passive energy efficiency measures focus on harnessing the natural resources in the campus area to create comfortable conditions for the campus users, especially indoors, including the following techniques used throughout the campus: Building envelope and materials: The choice of building … Continue reading →

Peak Oil: Perspectives for Saudi Arabia

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The term ‘peak oil’ is ominous to the Middle East, as most of the countries in the region are heavily dependent on oil and natural gas for industrial, economic and social development. Petroleum is considered one of the world’s most important sources of energy generation, after uranium, of course. Many other substances have been tested in order to be used as alternatives to petroleum, but none have hitherto been successful. Scientific research illustrates how the world is facing catastrophe if it doesn’t find an alternative to oil, as it is currently impossible for the global economy to grow without sufficient amounts … Continue reading →

The Power of Cities to Shape a Greener Future

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The current rate of urbanization is one of the global megatrends, which will manifest itself in many of the challenges faced in the upcoming decades. UN reports estimate that nearly 70% of the world’s population will be urban by 2050. The way in which cities deal with this rapid rate of urbanization will determine whether international objectives such as Sustainable Development Goal 11, aimed at making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable, will be achieved. Urbanization has further impacts on many more of the goals defined in the UN 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development. Achieving these goals … Continue reading →