By: Batir Wardam It has been more than 40 days since the USA and China drafted the toothless "Copenhagen Accord" in cooperation with Brazil, India and South Africa during the United Nations Summit on Climate Change in Copenhagen. The accord that has sidelined the EU and most developing countries has failed in identifying specific targets for emission reductions. It has also asked all industrial... [read more]

Source: Jordan Times   By Hana Namrouqa   The Ministry of Environment has launched a $4.3 million programme to develop the Kingdom's adaptation to climate change and sustain its Millennium Development Goal (MDG) achievements. The programme, financed by the UNDP-Spain MDG Achievement Fund, seeks to identify loopholes in the country's climate change adaptation process and assess... [read more]

Source: Jordan Times   By Hana Namrouqa   The Kingdom will soon carry out economic and environmental studies for environment- friendly projects to cut down greenhouse gases, estimated at 20 million tonnes annually, according to a senior government official. The studies will be implemented under an $81,000 agreement signed between Jordan and the United Nations Framework Convention... [read more]

Here is the full text of the speech by King Mohammad IV of Morocco delivered on his behalf by Prime Minister Abbas El-Fasi at the Copenhagen COP 15   Your Majesties,Your Excellencies,Mr. Secretary-General,Ladies and Gentlemen, I should like, first of all, to thank Her Majesty the Queen, the Government and the people of Denmark for their good organization of the Copenhagen Summit Conference... [read more]

Source: Petra News Agency   His Majesty King Abdullah on Thursday called on the international community to shoulder its responsibility to protect the future of humanity by combating climate change. In a speech at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen delivered by HRH Prince Hamzah, the King stressed Jordan’s support for international efforts to arrive at a just, fair and effective... [read more]

Source: Terra Viva   Terna Gyuse   COPENHAGEN (IPS/TerraViva) – In outlining a position on climate change, the League of Arab States must somehow account for looming problems like water stress – a problem found from Morocco in the west to the Gulf states in the east – and the importance of oil to the economies of many of the league’s members. Dr Emad Adly, in Copenhagen representing... [read more]

An insight from Science Devnet portal on the lack of reliable climate change data in the Arab world. Can't agree more.   Abdulhakim Mahmoud   [SANA'A] The Arab world must move quickly to carry out its own research to avert the worst effects of climate change on the region, a report has warned. The report, released last month (24 November) by the Lebanon-based Arab Forum for... [read more]

Another glimpse of light for Arab environmental activism.   Source: the Media Line   Copenhagen, Denmark Liana B. Baker / TML – Three days before the U.N. climate talks kicked off in Copenhagen, Tarak Tayara was told he was accepted as an official observer at the negotiations. The 28-year-old hopped on the next flight out of Lebanon and landed the next day in Denmark, ready... [read more]

While the public opinion and activists all over the world are showing public expressions for the need to reach the deal in Copenhagen our Arab street are quite like a desert, only mobilised by football rivarly and religious/political discourse. This small vigil in Lebanon organised by Greenpeace is a welcome candle in the darkness of our collective environmental awareness.   Source: Daily... [read more]

Source: Wall Street Journal   By SPENCER SWARTZ   With some of the world's fastest-growing oil consumers under pressure to cut carbon emissions, big petroleum-producing states are beginning to fret over a long-term drop in crude-oil revenue. For years, oil-producing states have worried about rich nations like the U.S. cutting back on energy consumption through conservation or... [read more]

Source: Going Green   Patrick Galey   As a small country, Lebanon punches above its weight in many spheres. Its financial sector is apparently invulnerable to global shocks; it has the largest stockpile of gold in the Middle East. Lebanon’s graduates are some to the best qualified on the planet; tri-lingual ex-pat businessmen and entrepreneurs frequently occupy top positions... [read more]

Source: AFP   By Andrew Newby   Dubai's debt crisis may make a small dent in its greenhouse gas emissions but the Gulf emirate faces an enormous task to cut carbon to the levels to be proposed at the UN climate summit starting this week. Dubai and the rest of the United Arab Emirates have the world's highest per capita carbon footprint according to the authoritative WWF Living... [read more]

Source: The Media Line   Written by Benjamin Joffe-WaltPublished Sunday, December 06, 2009   As the petroleum powers send their negotiating teams to the Copenhagen climate change summit, Middle Eastern analysts debate what role the Arab world is likely to play. The oily lands of the Middle East have an image problem. As the nations of the world prepare for the most significant... [read more]

It is unfortunate that Saudi Arabia is still playing a disruptive role in the climate negotiations supported by some so-called "resaerchers" who write in Saudi newspapers with skeptic positions regarding the climate change scientific foundations. This is a feature that was published in the UAE's National newspaper which is also completely biased to the Saudi argument   Wael Mahdi, Foreign... [read more]

This article, published by the Wall Street Journal documents the positions of the key countries having a strong impact on the outcome of the Copenhagen conference. Strangely though, they have missed Saudi Arabia which has a strong and influential-albeit negative- impact on the negotiations!   This week, officials from 192 countries will meet in Copenhagen to tackle global climate change,... [read more]

For the first time in the history of press, to the best of my knowledge a common global editorial was published by 56 newspapers in 45 countries. The editorial was written by the Guardian today on the occasion of opening the Climate Change conference in Copenhagen. I am not sure yet if it was published in newspaper from the Arab world. This is the full text   Copenhagen climate change... [read more]

Here are the full recommendations of the AFED 2nd annual conference taht was held in Beirut last month   The Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED) held its second annual conference in Beirut on 19-20 November 2009, under the patronage of His Excellency the President of the Lebanese Republic General Michel Sleiman. The conference brought together 500 delegates from 22 countries,... [read more]

The Copenhagen Diagnosis project has released a major report that compiles all significant scientific data that has been documented between 2007-2009 after the release of the IPCC's fourth assessment report on Climate Change. The report can be downloaded from here http://www.copenhagendiagnosis.com/default.html  The purpose of this report is to synthesize the most policy-relevant climate... [read more]

The most comprehensive report documenting and discussing the projected impacts of climate change on the Arab world has been released by the Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED) in Beirut last week, within the proceedings of the second annual conference for AFED. This report, edited by Mostapha Tolba and Najib Saab is the second of a series of annual reports produced by the Arab... [read more]

Source: Pal Telegraph, processed from World Bank resources   The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is particularly vulnerable to climate change. It is one of the world's most water-scarce and dry regions; with a high dependency on climate-sensitive agriculture and a large share of its population and economic activity in flood-prone urban coastal zones. On the other hand, societies... [read more]

Last month I was involved in the translation of the landmark report to be released by the Arab Forum on Environment and Developemnt on Nov 19th in Beirut entitled "Impacts of Climate Change on the Arab World". From my review of three important draft chapters I can say that the report will be a comprehensive outlook on the impacts of climate change on the region, documented for the first time in... [read more]

This may be hugely disappointing for the majority of world population and environmental activists, but many countries will be rejoice in secret if a deal is not reached at Copenhagen next months. The gloomy propspects have been reiterated again today in a feature published by the Guardian quoting officials from industrialised countries casting doubts over the possibility of sealing the deal on emission... [read more]

Ministers of Environemnt in Jordan (Khalid Irani) and Sweden (Andreas Calgren) have wrote a joint article that was published by the Jordan Times on Thursday Nov 5th, in preparation for a joint Jordan-EU conference to be held in Amman on Nov 8th entitled "the road to Copenhagen". Here is the text of the article   The climate is changing fast. All over the world, including in Jordan,... [read more]

Under the theme 'strategic implications of climate change" the Biterlemons has published a package of articles and interviews reflecting the potential and current impacts of climate change on the region from a strategic perspectives. The articles can be accessed here http://www.bitterlemons-international.org/previous.php?opt=1&id=288    This is the full text of an interesting... [read more]

Yesterday marked the global Blogging Action Day 2009 with the all important theme of Climate Change being the common denominator of all the blogs posted on that particular day, almost 10,000 posts. The Jordanian Minister of Environment Khalid Irani provided an unprecedented expression from an Arab official using modern social media tool. Here is his post written for 7iber.com which is Jordan's... [read more]

Source: Jordan Times 17.9.2009   By Hana Namrouqa   Jordan will demand industrial countries’ support for national projects that curb the impact of climate change in the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference, a senior government official said on Wednesday. The conference, which will be held in Copenhagen in December, is expected to yield a climate change deal building upon the... [read more]

This is the editorial of Najib Saab publisher and editor-in-chief of Environment & Development the leading environmental magazine in the Arab World for the September issue http://www.najibsaab.com/english/editordetails.asp?id=220    Climate Change: Challenge of Tomorrow, Solution for Today   Is it true that combating climate change hampers efforts to tackle... [read more]

My article published in the Jordan Times today   By Batir Wardam   The 2008-2022 national water strategy has been officially endorsed. This document will set the planning platform for the most crucial development sector in the country for the next 14 years. In a country where values like good governance, accountability, transparency, public participation and decentralisation... [read more]