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World leaders representing the signatory countries to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change last week gathered in Sharm El-Sheikh for the latest COP conference, focusing global attention on Egypt and the region. With Egypt hosting COP27 and COP28 set to take place in the UAE, the next two years present an opportunity for the Middle East and North Africa to establish itself as a leader in climate diplomacy and the fight against climate change.
This year’s summit falls at a decisive moment in global efforts to limit rising temperatures, and the discussions are coming from the heart of those countries most impacted by climate change. With new — and dire — realities facing the world, the geopolitics of achieving global climate targets (and the fallout for not doing so) are more sharply in focus than at previous COPs.
In his address last week, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for multilateral efforts between more developed and developing nations to avoid climate catastrophe, saying “humanity has a choice: cooperate or perish.” This collaborative approach will be central to the success of COP27 and indeed any future climate discussions. While COP27 is enabling international cooperation on the global stage, the Middle East Green Initiative, inaugurated in 2021, is spearheading regional multilateralism and serves as a catalyst for investment in climate action.
With 20 founding members from the Middle East, Africa and Asia, the Middle East Green Initiative focuses on one particularly important issue within the climate action agenda: land degradation. Compared to the rest of the world, the Middle East and Africa are particularly vulnerable to land degradation due to rising temperatures. If left unaddressed, the destruction of natural terrestrial habitat through degradation will be the leading cause of biodiversity loss by 2050 and will simultaneously contribute to climate change by increasing greenhouse gas emissions and reducing the natural uptake of carbon.
In tandem with COP27, the Middle East Green Initiative leaders’ summit illustrated significant regional cooperation efforts and highlighted the commitments made by the countries that will be hardest hit by climate change to address this global challenge. As stated in the summit, the initiative will support international climate goals through overseeing projects that will reduce carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions by more than 670 million tons. This represents 10 percent of global contributions.
By planting 50 billion trees, the initiative will increase the area covered by trees twelvefold and rehabilitate 200 million hectares of degraded land, further supporting the reduction of global emissions by 2.5 percent. While the benefits here are obvious, it is important to note that this initiative will create an international framework for tackling deforestation and land degradation, as well as significant job creation opportunities, especially in rural communities.
The Middle East Green Initiative is spearheading regional multilateralism and serves as a catalyst for investment in climate action.
Haifa Al-Jedea
Additionally, countries under the scope of the Middle East Green Initiative will also benefit from an investment fund that will support projects through utilizing blended financing. It will leverage partnerships and cooperation with other funds, climate financing, grants and private sector investment, as well as drive the certifications required to enable green financing solutions to include sustainability bonds. This could help to alleviate one of the main pressures on countries — accessing funding for green technologies — and will capitalize on the investment trajectory as projects focused on clean energy receive more attention going forward. This has the potential to create a regional green ecosystem of sorts, where members collaborate to achieve climate goals, energy demand and development objectives through one initiative.
One key issue to benefit from the fund is regional efforts to develop a clean fuel solution for cooking that could improve the well-being of 750 million individuals (30 percent of the global population still relies on polluting fuels for cooking). This initiative is a major contribution to improving access to clean energy and toward the enhancement of lives and livelihoods. In his speech last week, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced the Kingdom’s allocation of $2.5 billion over the next 10 years in support of this fund.
While the Middle East Green Initiative is arguably the most significant climate initiative on a regional level, Think Research and Advisory analysis shows that several MENA states have made ambitious renewable energy transition pledges and strides to realize a diversified energy mix through solar and wind energy investments.
Gulf states boast several enablers of renewable energy deployment, including sizable renewable resources in terms of predictably high solar irradiance levels and wind speed. Moreover, government backing of the financing and development of renewable projects in Gulf states is helping to turn this abundance of renewable energy resources into mega-projects, such as utility-scale renewable energy plants, with those currently in the pipeline having a combined capacity of 13.64 gigawatts and exceeding $9 billion in value.
To tackle the root causes of climate change, the Middle East and Africa must also plan for the long term and focus on renewables. In many cases, especially in the African context, international collaboration, long-term planning and sustainable financing are central to driving positive outcomes for renewables.
For instance, as outlined in a recent Think Research and Advisory report titled “COP27 and Beyond: Africa’s Gas Dilemma,” investment in clean energy presents an opportunity to provide African nations with just and secure energy provision, despite the continent’s wide disparities. Emphasizing clean technologies would allow African states to expand their commercial and industrial sectors through reliable and affordable energy supply. It would also help attract investment, create much-needed employment and grow Africa’s economies.
The MENA region, despite being home to major oil-producing nations, has now passed a critical crossroads in terms of its meaningful commitment to energy diversification. For Africa, while funding to support the continent’s efforts to protect against “baked-in” climate change damage is important, only strides toward renewables will be the bulwark that provides lasting energy — and human — security.
- Haifa Al-Jedea is the Managing Director of SRMG Think, which oversees Think Research and Advisory.