IFC Invests in Infrastructure to Boost Renewable Energy Across the Middle East

IFC IFC Invests in Infrastructure to Boost Renewable Energy Across the Middle East

Environmentalists Warn That Gulf Oil Spill Recovery Could Be a Mirage - Bloomberg Business

Environmentalists Warn That Gulf Oil Spill Recovery Could Be a Mirage - Bloomberg Business

Iran’s leaders react to the nation’s massive environmental challenge

http://www.theguardian.com/world/iran-blog/2015/mar/18/irans-leaders-react-to-the-nations-massive-environmental-challenge

Issue 7:- Saudi energy mix: renewables augment gas

Issue 7:- Saudi energy mix: renewables augment gas

Ray Takeyh: How to Promote Human Rights in Iran - Council on Foreign Relations

Ray Takeyh: How to Promote Human Rights in Iran - Council on Foreign Relations

Catherine Powell: Women and Girls in the Afghanistan Transition - Council on Foreign Relations

Catherine Powell: Women and Girls in the Afghanistan Transition - Council on Foreign Relations

Saudi Green Building Forum 2014 | Event | MEED

Saudi Green Building Forum 2014 | Event | MEED

Kuwait Energy & Water Efficiency

Kuwait Energy & Water Efficiency

Corporate Social Responsibility’s New Role in the Middle East

An urgent need for job growth is spurring an innovative trend in CSR and high-minded commercial initiatives.

In most developed nations, corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives center on issues such as environmental sustainability, alternative energy, clean technology, and social welfare. Driving these activities, more often than not, is a company’s desire to appeal to strong consumer sentiment.

But in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), CSR is becoming something fundamentally different. It is focusing less on catering to consumer attitudes, and more on addressing social and economic challenges that are hindering development, most notably the shortage of jobs.

See full Article: http://www.strategy-business.com/article/00241?gko=20aae

Senator John McCain gives a powerful call to arms on the atrocities in Syria

Senator John McCain on Syria

Senator John McCain (R-AZ),a member of the Armed Services Committee, came to the floor to urge his colleagues to take action on the situation in Syria. He showed several graphic photographs of victims of the fighting in that country. His remarks were interrupted by Majority Leader Reid for some housekeeping business.

See Video: http://www.c-span.org/video/?317782-4/senator-john-mccain-syria

Israeli activists to receive Green Globe awards on Earth Day - Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News

http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/israeli-activists-to-receive-green-globe-awards-on-earth-day-1.425488

Climate change threatens Gulf monarchies' survival | Environment | DW.DE | 21.05.2013

http://www.dw.de/climate-change-threatens-gulf-monarchies-survival/a-16779395

New Report: Energy Conservation Key Security Goal for Gulf

The systemic waste of oil and gas in the Gulf is eroding economic resilience to shocks and increasing security risks, including to citizens’ health. Success or failure in setting and meeting sustainable energy goals in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries will have a global impact, says a new report Saving Oil and Gas in the Gulf.

The six GCC countries - Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, the UAE and Bahrain - now consume more primary energy than the whole of Africa. Yet they have just one twentieth of that continent’s population. Energy intensity in the region is high and rising in contrast to other industrialized regions and is driven by systemic inefficiencies.

Almost 100% of energy in the region is produced from oil and gas without carbon dioxide abatement, and water security is increasingly dependent on energy-driven desalination. If the region’s fuel demand were to continue rising as it has over the last decade, it would double by 2024. This is a deeply undesirable prospect for both the national security of each state and the global environment.

See full Press Release: http://www.chathamhouse.org/media/news/view/193885

Environmentalists Try to Save One of Jordan’s Last Forests

In the early 1990s, Jordanian King Hussein Bin Talal launched a campaign under the slogan “Turning Jordan Green by 2000,” based on his aspiration to see his country turn into a green paradise. The king died on Feb. 7, 1999, without realizing his ambition. This goal has yet to be realized, and now seems impossible in light of the latest statistics issued by the Ministry of Agriculture indicating that less than 1% of the kingdom is covered by plant life​.

With the death of the king the slogan faded away, while during his life it remained a mere slogan without any actual mechanisms of action or serious implementation plans.

See full Article: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/culture/2013/07/jordan-last-forest-campaign-bargash.html#ixzz2ZTyQNVCd

Solar power sparks innovation in oil-rich Qatar

Sunshine is abundant in Qatar. All that untapped solar power could create a new energy economy in this oil-rich nation. Researchers are already testing solar-powered cooling systems and water desalination plants.

Researcher Nesrin Ozalp slides on a pair of big, black, UV resistant sunglasses and enters her lab in the research facility at Texas A&M University in Qatar's capital city Doha. In the center of the room bright rays of light beam from what looks like a baking over. It's Ozalp's solar simulator.

See full Article: http://www.dw.de/solar-power-sparks-innovation-in-oil-rich-qatar/a-16427243

Yemen Explores Alternative Energy

The Republic of Yemen - unlike its oil-rich neighbors on the Arabian Peninsula -- has been forced to explore alternative forms of energy to offset low crude oil production.

But while desperate government officials in the capital, Sana’a scramble to revive an economy shattered by last year’s anti-government uprisings, renewable energy investments remain on the back burner.

In the face of the uprisings, the Yemeni government and international actors froze millions of dollars earmarked for alternative energy projects and in many cases redirected the funds to what they considered more urgent priorities.

See full Article: http://www.voanews.com/content/yemen-explores-alternative-energy/1573857.html

Climate change comes with catastrophic consequences

Even slight rises in sea level could flood Middle Eastern cities and cause heavy economic damages

The impact of climate change will be acute in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and immediate action will be needed to avoid the projected consequences of worsening water shortages and rising food insecurity, according to a new World Bank report on climate change.

In 2006, flooding of the Nile River Basin affected 118,000 individuals – and led to 600 flood-related deaths. In the Jordan River Basin, 2008 was the 5th consecutive year of drought. Before these memories faded, June 2010’s Cyclone Phet – the 2nd-strongest tropical cyclone in the region – killed 44 people and damaged $700 million worth of properties in Oman.

See full Article: http://gulfnews.com/news/region/egypt/climate-change-comes-with-catastrophic-consequences-1.1125054

Israeli greens up in arms over building plans on last stretch of major sand dunes

The planned industrial park, which will cater to high-tech firms, will encompass an area of 400 dunams (100 acres), of which 130 dunams will actually be built on.

The Southern District Planning and Building Committee on Monday approved a controversial plan to build an industrial park on the sand dunes south of Ashdod, overriding the objections of environmental organizations.

See full Article: http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/israeli-greens-up-in-arms-over-building-plans-on-last-stretch-of-major-sand-dunes.premium-1.485488

EU - Delegation visit to Tunisia: gender equality after the Arab Spring

The committee will send a delegation to Tunisia on 29-31.10.12 with the objective to assess women's rights and gender equality after the Arab Spring, in the country where the protests started. The delegation is also linked to the drafting of an own-initiative report on "The Situation of Women in North Africa" and a public hearing held on 04.06.12.

Counting the carbon cost of bringing water to the desert

During the summer months, in the arid, subtropical coastal plains of the United Arab Emirates, temperatures rise to 40 Celsius plus -- while average rainfall is a desolate four inches a year.

And yet, in the years since the discovery of vast oil reserves in the late 1950s, a forest of skyscrapers, luxury apartments, verdant green gardens and golf courses has risen from the sand.

See full Article.