Leading Climate Change Challenges In The Middle East And Their Solutions :
The consequences of climate change challenges are already being seen throughout the Arab world.The Middle East is particularly susceptible to climate stressors like rising heat and water scarcity because of its location and arid climate conditions.The world bank predicts that this will lead to more widespread and persistent excessive heat, which will render some areas uninhabitable and reduce agricultural production. According to the Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas published by the World Resource Institute, the Middle East is the world’s most water-stressed region, with only one percent of the world’s total sustainable freshwater supplies. As stated by the World Resources Institute, 12 of the world’s 17 most “water-stressed” countries are located in the Middle East. This makes water scarcity there a pressing issue. The World Bank predicts that by 2050, water shortages caused by climate change will cost Middle Eastern countries between 6 and 14 percent of their GDP due to its effects on agriculture, health, and incomes. All of these stress the importance of adopting more sustainable methods to promote environmental sustainability.
Climate Change Challenges In The Middle East And Their Solutions
In light of the immediate dangers posed by climate change in the Middle East, a number of governments in the region have pledged to take steps to slow global warming by adopting renewable energy and green technology. Renewable energy will go a long way in curbing the effects of climate change.
On the other hand, as a result of the region’s traditional economic structure, its income is heavily dependent on extracting fossil fuels, contributing to global warming by increasing the world’s carbon footprint. A more rapid increase in the extraction and use of fossil fuels will lead to more rapid climate change. Nations throughout the world need to wean themselves off fossil fuels as quickly as possible if they want to create a more sustainable environment.
As more persons become aware of the importance of solving climate and environmental challenges, more and more of the technology and expertise required to do so are mostly imported. While helpful, imports like these aren’t always made for the region and often require modification to work properly. To ensure that technology and skills are tailored to local requirements and goals, governments in the Middle East should make use of their sizable youth populations by enabling a national innovation system.
Funding for climate-related research in the Middle East region should be increased by regional and international governments, multilateral institutions, and the private sector. Government and society as a whole may undergo a cultural shift in response to investments in research and education, which could lead to a readjustment of public sector reform approaches and an adaptation of good governance strategies to encourage and enable innovations that mitigate climate-related challenges.
Takeaways
Climate change will have a hard time getting to the top of universal national agendas until it is seen as a source of more conflicts and risks instead of just another problem that should be added to the long list of problems that a region is facing. The governments of Middle Eastern countries need to change how they make decision about climate-related threats, taking both the short-term and long-term effects into account.
