Climate change does not directly spark conflict, but it does help to light the fuse by exacerbating stresses on natural resources. When peace finally returns to places such as Syria and Yemen, one of the most important questions we will face is how reconstruction can address climate challenges that heighten the risk of conflict.
In addition to many other longstanding social and political problems, the civil war in Syria was partly fuelled by a prolonged drought that devastated agricultural land, ravaging crop yields and doubling food prices. It is telling that the violence erupted after 1.5 million disenfranchised people migrated to already over-populated cities to find work.
With temperatures in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) rising faster than the global average, this is a pattern that is set to repeat itself elsewhere. The population of this region, already the world’s most water-deprived and dependent on food imports, is projected to double by 2050, putting resources under enormous pressure. Climate change could trigger a further decline in food and water provision of 20-40 per cent, with increased droughts and heatwaves likely.
Climate also contributes to the rise of terrorism. In Iraq and Syria, organisations such as ISIS capitalised on the damage wrought by climate change, recruiting impoverished farmers whose lives and incomes had been wrecked. In Nigeria, the emergence of Boko Haram can be linked to environmental crises in the country's north.
Transformative policies are needed in the Middle East to make development climate-resistant, and the overriding priorities must be water and food security. Water scarcity – already acute – will be worsened by increasing desertification, rising temperatures and the exhaustion of aquifers. Adaptation efforts should concentrate on reducing waste, efficient management of water, harnessing new sources of clean water, such as desalination, and increasing use of renewable energy sources.
Extreme weather, combined with reduced water availability, meanwhile, will reduce agricultural production, leading to food shortages. To ensure food security, the planting of drought-resistant crops as well as the use of drip irrigation and other resilient farming techniques should be a critical component of any broader security approach for the region.
We should view the effects of climate change as an early-warning system to start building resilience. This will help counter further destabilisation and can be extended across the whole region as peace returns. Many relatively stable Mena countries are already heeding this call.
Saudi Arabia, for example, is the world leader in desalination, with 27 plants around its coastline. It is planning to invest $200 billion to produce a massive 200 gigawatts of solar energy by 2030.
This challenge for the Middle East is primarily about adaptation.
The UAE, too, is on a clear path to build a green economy and a sustainable lifestyle for its residents. Masdar, the Abu Dhabi clean energy company, has invested around $2.7 billion in projects in the UAE and around the world over the past 10 years, with 1 gigawatt of installed capacity and another 0.7 gigawatts under development.
Egypt, Jordan and Tunisia, meanwhile, treat a significant part of their collected wastewater, although they are still unable to implement its reuse at scale. Agricultural production in Egypt is especially vulnerable to the impacts of global warming and other effects of climate change. The country’s Nile Delta, where more than 20 million people live, and which is considered the main engine of the country’s agriculture, is particularly threatened by rising sea levels.
Jordan, which has seen an influx of refugees from the war in Iraq and Syria, has become a focus for technological research in the water sector. Scientists there are working on low-pressure drip technology that maximises the energy-efficiency of crop irrigation.
It is also heartening to see Morocco, supported by international donors, completing work on a vast solar plant the size of 200 football fields in its southern desert – one of the biggest projects of its kind.
These bright spots, however, are just a fraction of what is needed. Efforts to adapt infrastructure such as water, agriculture and energy to a changing climate can only be scaled up with focused leadership and support from the private sector and international partners. Cities, likely to be a magnet for many thousands more displaced from the land, must be made resilient through planned urbanisation and by empowering mayors and other community leaders.
Smaller-scale initiatives in poor agricultural communities should be supported with a “bottom-up” approach to tackling climate change. That involves providing local technical support and microfinance to farmers to allow them to adopt relatively low-cost technologies – such as resilient and diversified crop management – to counter the effects of dwindling water supplies.
Failure to act is not an option. The World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Perception Survey 2019 ranks water crisis among the most likely threats to businesses and economies. And according to the World Bank, the Mena region is expected to suffer the greatest economic losses from climate-related water scarcity by 2050, up to 14 per cent of GDP.
The Paris Agreement to limit global warming, signed by almost 200 countries also increases opportunities for climate-smart investment in the region’s infrastructure, sending a decisive market signal that the transition to a thriving clean economy is inevitable, irreversible and irresistible.
The climate challenge for the Middle East is primarily about adaptation. The world must – and can – do more. Investing in sustainable agriculture, rural development and clean energy is an integral part of the solution to sustain peace by helping to reduce tension and catalyse processes that promote stability.
Professor Patrick Verkooijen is CEO of the Global Centre on Adaptation. Professor Jamal Saghir is an affiliated scholar at the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs, American University of Beirut
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
THE BIO
Bio Box
Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul
Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader
Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet
Favorite food: seafood
Favorite place to travel: Lebanon
Favorite movie: Braveheart
Global Fungi Facts
• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil
Results
5pm Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,400m
Winner No Riesgo Al Maury, Szczepan Mazur (jockey), Ibrahim Al Hadhrami (trainer)
5.30pm Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 1,600m
Winner Marwa W’Rsan, Sam Hitchcott, Jaci Wickham.
6pm Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 1,600m
Winner Dahess D’Arabie, Al Moatasem Al Balushi, Helal Al Alawi.
6.30pm Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 2,200m
Winner Safin Al Reef, Connor Beasley, Abdallah Al Hammadi.
7pm Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 2,200m
Winner Thulbaseera Al Jasra, Shakir Al Balushi, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami.
7.30pm Maiden (TB) Dh 80,000 2,200m
Winner Autumn Pride, Szczepan Mazur, Helal Al Alawi.
Why seagrass matters
- Carbon sink: Seagrass sequesters carbon up to 35X faster than tropical rainforests
- Marine nursery: Crucial habitat for juvenile fish, crustations, and invertebrates
- Biodiversity: Support species like sea turtles, dugongs, and seabirds
- Coastal protection: Reduce erosion and improve water quality
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Company: Instabug
Founded: 2013
Based: Egypt, Cairo
Sector: IT
Employees: 100
Stage: Series A
Investors: Flat6Labs, Accel, Y Combinator and angel investors
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Where to donate in the UAE
The Emirates Charity Portal
You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Al Noor Special Needs Centre
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Emirates Airline Foundation
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
Emirates Red Crescent
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Noor Dubai Foundation
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
FFP EXPLAINED
What is Financial Fair Play?
Introduced in 2011 by Uefa, European football’s governing body, it demands that clubs live within their means. Chiefly, spend within their income and not make substantial losses.
What the rules dictate?
The second phase of its implementation limits losses to €30 million (Dh136m) over three seasons. Extra expenditure is permitted for investment in sustainable areas (youth academies, stadium development, etc). Money provided by owners is not viewed as income. Revenue from “related parties” to those owners is assessed by Uefa's “financial control body” to be sure it is a fair value, or in line with market prices.
What are the penalties?
There are a number of punishments, including fines, a loss of prize money or having to reduce squad size for European competition – as happened to PSG in 2014. There is even the threat of a competition ban, which could in theory lead to PSG’s suspension from the Uefa Champions League.
Profile Periscope Media
Founder: Smeetha Ghosh, one co-founder (anonymous)
Launch year: 2020
Employees: four – plans to add another 10 by July 2021
Financing stage: $250,000 bootstrap funding, approaching VC firms this year
Investors: Co-founders
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
