COP18 Kindles Climate Fervor across MENA
[객원 에디터 3기 / 정연우 기자] MENA (Middle East and North Africa) countries regularly experience extreme weather patterns of over 55 degrees celsius during the summer and more frequent and prolonged droughts. Rising sea levels pose threats to low-lying coastal areas like Tunisia, Qatar, Libya, Kuwait, Egypt, and the UAE. The additional threat of water scarcity—combined with a finite underground water supply—has been projected by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to expose an additional 80–100 million people to water stress by 2025.
Therefore, potential climate threats to the Middle East were discussed during the 18th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP18) in 2012. According to the IPCC, most of the MENA regions are expected to face increasingly high temperatures and reduced precipitation. Held in Qatar, the conference marked the first UN climate event in the Middle East, successfully inspiring Arab youths to take action and fight against the costful economic activities inflicted on the climate. By December 1st of 2021, Qatar undertook its first ever climate protest, involving more than 800 participants in a march for change.
Despite such progress, youth civic engagement levels in MENA continue to be the lowest globally due to limited opportunities for collaboration and innovation as well as disunity among countries in the region. Likewise, despite tropical climates making the region more vulnerable to climate changes, the developing status of most MENA states are attributed to a general reluctance to transition from fossil fuels to cleaner energy.
In response, the UN has launched the MENA Climate Week (MENACW) in March with the mission to “accelerate collaboration and integrate climate action into global pandemic recovery.” To achieve this, the programme aims to create more opportunities to address socioeconomic inequalities in MENA and invest in economic development for humanity and the environment.
COP18 also gave rise to short- and long-term climate strategies tailored to MENA. Most prominent among these is the development partner programme, which would enhance long term greenhouse gas development in the region, supporting sustainable and inclusive growth. Given MENA’s availability in potential wind and solar energy, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) forecasted that if the region uses just 5% of its renewable power, it would be able to generate more than half of its electricity usage by 2050.
The MENA Climate Week gathered state and private actors across the MENA region to cooperate and formulate strategies to fight climate change collectively. From small initiatives like more frequent Earth hours in schools and households to larger global projects involving development partners and funding systems, the programme effectively grabbed the attention of MENA countries and reminded them of the urgency of climate change actions.
Although, in 2012 due to the declining youth civic engagement rates, the potential influence of COP18 were limited and failed to cause a change within MENA regions. However, with enough perseverance, and effective community action, the MENA region will be able to make significant progress in combating climate change in the years to come.
Sources: The World Bank, United Nations Climate Change, World Bank Group, MEI
