The MENA region can accelerate its renewable energy production, explaining that despite a growing commitment to climate action through net-zero targets, the MENA region still lags behind its global peers in this field, according to analysis for the World Economic Forum.
This is how the MENA region can accelerate its renewable energy production
25 April 2024
The MENA region still lags behind its global peers in terms of renewable energy capacity. Image: REUTERS/Mike Hutchings
COP28 saw 125 countries across the world commit to tripling renewable energy capacity by 2030.
Growth in wind and solar capacity can make the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region a clean energy and green hydrogen hub.
But MENA currently lags behind its global peers in this field, according to a World Economic Forum report.
In the heart of the Middle East in late 2023, several major climate pledges were made at COP28. As well as commitments around energy efficiency and transitioning away from fossil fuels, 125 countries signed a pledge to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030.
The pledge said this would align with research by the International Energy Agency (IEA) and International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) on how to limit global warming to 1.5C, as well as “create new jobs, enhance lives and livelihoods, and empower people, communities, and societies”.
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region that hosted COP27 and COP28 has historically been associated with its natural reserves of oil. However, it is also a region that has a huge amount of natural resources that can be harnessed for renewables.
To that end, countries in the MENA region will add 62GW of renewable energy capacity over the next five years, according to the IEA, in their attempt to meet the pledge made at COP28. The pace of growth is also expected to accelerate to more than three times the previous five-year period, with solar capacity making up over 85% of the increase.
Seven countries in MENA account for 90% of the region’s renewable energy growth.Image: IEA
Saudi Arabia will account for over a third of this growth, with significant contributions also expected by the UAE, Morocco, Oman, Egypt, Israel and Jordan. These seven countries are expected to account for over 90% of the region’s growth in renewables capacity, the IEA research adds.
Published in most francophone media, here is An even more useful Earth Day? by Michel Gourd. For all intents and purposes, Earth Day is not only an initiative to raise sustainability awareness, but as elaborated here, it covers all aspects of life for everyone all around the earth.
As Published by Sam Pattisapu on Earth Day 2024 is an annual commemoration that was conceived and launched in 1970 by Democratic U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin and Republican U.S. Representative Pete McCloskey of California. The website provides a powerful reminder of the similarities between the two times and the differences in the environmental challenges faced by the present generation.
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SENE NEWS Par El Malick Faye
22 April 2024
Although it already shows that the world’s population is ready to take action to improve the planet, Earth Day could spark more positive actions to reduce environmental debt and the use of fossil fuels, COP29’s blind spot.
Globally, April 22 marks Earth Day. First held in 1970, it has become a symbol of awareness of the environmental challenges facing our planet on a global scale. It’s a powerful tool for the environment. Around one billion people from 190 countries are taking part this year under the theme of sustainable mobility and environmentally responsible travel. These gestures of responsible citizens who take local action can also be seen with the urgency of protecting the Earth that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres pleaded for in July 2023, “The era of global warming is over; make way for the era of global boiling” he said at the time.
Overshoot Day
Each of us is part of a collective that consumes a little more each year than the Earth can produce. The day of the exceedance of the renewable resources produced by our planet calculated by the “Global Footprint Network” from three million statistical data collected from 200 countries was December 31 in, 1986, October 9 in, 2006, August 3 in, 2016 and August 2 in, 2023. This date varies greatly from country to country. If it arrives as soon as February 11 for Qatar in 2024, it is November 24 in Ecuador and Indonesia but does not exceed June 3 for Western countries.
We are currently consuming more than 1.7 times the available renewable resources and, therefore, the environmental capital that will be missing for future generations. Overshoot Day is one of the best symbols of human overconsumption and the need to reduce it to protect the Earth’s ecosystems. It can no longer sustainably support our production and consumption patterns. Therefore, we must collectively have the intelligence to reduce our lifestyle and adapt it to the maximum budget our planet gives us.
COP29 and Earth
Climate finance will be at the heart of COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan. Its chairman, Mukhtar Babayev, who is the host country’s Minister of Natural Resources, has so far responded little to the concerns of the protectors of the Earth. Instead, since the beginning of the year, it has been posting meetings with banks, countries and investment tools to secure the financial side of the event. His country has officially announced that it will increase its natural gas production by 35% by 2034. It thus abandons, as did the leaders of COP28, a major recommendation of the IPCC, namely that not all new fossil fuel discoveries should be developed.
2024 was the hottest year on record on the planet. The lack of interest in limiting the use of fossil fuels over the past 40 years is already producing extreme heat waves, leading to diseases such as cholera, malnutrition, habitat destruction, deteriorating living conditions, social inequalities, forced migration, and wars. Any citizen involvement in reducing the use of fossil fuels can only be positive.
An Earth Day that lasts all year round?
According to the latest annual United in Science 2021 climate report by UN scientists, climate change and its consequences are getting worse. Antonio Guterres said, “We really don’t have any more time to lose.”
In the face of self-serving inertia on the part of many large corporations and governments, the concrete citizen action promoted by Earth Day could be a voice for action. Citizens who want to take action to protect the planet can take millions of small, concrete actions that meet their daily needs and aspirations while respecting their environment, whether economic, social or physical, in the long term.
Thinking before you buy or destroy the environment is becoming more and more important. Reducing consumption is also compatible with happiness. According to Amélie Côté, a source reduction analyst at Équiterre, reducing work hours is not necessarily a deprivation since it allows you to have more time with your family and friends and often only requires you to be more sober in your consumption choices.
“Time is a very precious commodity.” Spending time working to buy things that don’t make you happier is not an optimal way to live. Living more responsibly for the environment, as Earth Day does, requires respecting our planet’s resources and boundaries.
The gradual abandonment of fossil fuels in national energy mixes in favour of new clean energies has now been agreed upon internationally. It should lead to the establishment of a new energy ecosystem. This historic decision, adopted at the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28), held in Dubai from 30 November to 12 December 2023, has a double effect:
(1) accelerate efforts to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050 or around 2050 through a phase-down of coal use, the elimination of inefficient fossil fuel subsidies and the significant reduction of methane emissions; and (2) accelerate the global economy’s transition to renewable energy sources, cleaner technologies, and greater energy efficiency. While these measures have become essential to deal with global warming, the energy transition will impose costs on fossil fuel-producing and exporting countries and force them to set up new diversified economic models. These costs will vary from one oil-producing country to another depending on their specificities in terms of products exported and the structure of extraction costs. As far as it is concerned, although oil has dominated economic activity since independence, Algeria does not contribute significantly to global climate change.
However, like other countries in the Middle East and North Africa, it remains strongly affected by various serious natural disturbances. In addition to the structural costs imposed by the latter (ecosystems, infrastructure, economic activity), there will be those of the energy transition. The combination of the two will inevitably increase the country’s macroeconomic and social vulnerabilities as well as the financial need to address them. The future must therefore be prepared now by putting in place ambitious and coherent macroeconomic reforms and mobilizing adequate financing to create new engines of growth. An immediate strategic priority. Let’s discuss these points.
The energy transition is expected to reconfigure the structure of the market for energy products. The current global energy mix is dominated by fossil fuels (85% with oil accounting for 34% of global energy consumption, gas 23% and coal 28%). Although increasing, the share of renewable energies (wind, solar and geothermal) is only 15%. The five largest producers of renewable energy are China (31% of global production), the United States (11%), Brazil (6.4%), Canada (5.4%) and India (3.9%). Iceland is the country with 87% of its energy produced from renewable sources, followed by Norway (71.56%) and Sweden (50.92%). In 2023, the global renewable energy sector employed 14 million people and attracted $525 billion in investment.
Fossil fuel exporters will now face a gradual decline in global demand between 2024-2050. In support of net-zero GHG emissions, projections by the International Energy Agency, the World Bank and the IMF show a decline in the consumption of coal (90% due to its high carbon content), oil (80%) and natural gas (70% due to its low carbon content). Demand for natural gas could even increase in the short to medium term if it is used as a transition fuel as a substitute for coal.
The impacts on domestic demand for fossil fuels will not be uniform but will depend on a range of factors, including: (1) the type of product exported and its extraction costs; (2) the specificities of the country; (3) the dynamics of fossil fuel sector reform (downstream carbon pricing, adoption of clean technologies, penalization of emissions-intensive extraction processes, and banning polluting technologies); (4) the level of investment in fossil fuel projects, particularly by major crude oil, natural gas or coal producing countries so as not to undermine global energy security; (5) technological development in favour of cleaner energy alternatives; and (6) freezing 60% of the world’s proven oil and natural gas reserves and 90% of coal reserves to meet the COP 28 target.
The energy transition will have an impact on the macroeconomic fundamentals of fossil fuel exporting countries.
The sustainability of the balance of payments will be threatened by a decline in net fossil fuel export earnings, a decline in foreign direct investment in the energy sector, an increase in the country’s external debt, a decline in foreign exchange reserves, a depreciation of the nominal exchange rate, and a consequent rise in inflation.
Economic growth and, ultimately, its main drivers. The decline in exports and/or investment associated with the oil industry will first weaken economic activity and employment in the downstream sectors (cement, fertilizers, petrochemicals, steel). Secondly, there will be multiplier effects on the economy as a whole, through reductions in employment levels, incomes of economic agents, oil taxation, private and public consumption and investment. Finally, changes in domestic demand, fossil fuel consumer prices, and exchange rate movements will fuel inflationary pressures.
The sustainability of public finances. The variation in global fossil fuel prices will reduce the level of taxation collected from public and private companies (national and international) involved in this activity (taxes, dividends, royalties and profits in the case of production-sharing contracts). The spillover effects on the economy as a whole will also take the form of a reduction in the tax base, a change in the structure of public expenditure (conversion and restructuring programmes of the economy) and an increase in the debt of state-owned enterprises (through explicit and implicit public guarantees). Ultimately, governments will need to draw on their reserves or cut spending to maintain the sustainability of public finances and public debt.
The banking and financial sector: which is heavily involved in the financing of the fossil fuel industry, could face higher risks related to balance sheet effects (generated by exchange rate fluctuations, excessive volatility or sustained changes in fossil fuel sales), which will affect the ability of the financial sector to attract domestic or international financing and to ensure the intermediation of funds and the support for the economy.
The main thrusts of reforms at the level of fossil fuel exporting countries to manage the energy transition. Overall, the latter is a source of challenges but also opportunities for the countries concerned to undertake a transition to an energy mix that will protect populations and ensure sustainable economic development. In the context of long-term planning, punctuated by regular assessments to determine the point of abandonment of fossil fuel investments and the shift to clean energy, countries should put in place appropriate public policies and reforms based on the following key areas:
Diversification of the economy: to reduce their dependence on fossil fuel revenues by targeting the renewable energy, tourism, agriculture, manufacturing and knowledge sectors.
Investments in renewable energy: to meet their energy needs and reduce carbon emissions while paving the way for new economic opportunities and jobs.
Tax reforms: aimed at reducing the share of taxation on fossil fuels through new taxes or levies on the extraction and consumption of fossil fuels, as well as the reallocation of public spending towards sustainable development.
Social safety nets: vital to help vulnerable populations adapt to a changing economy, including through support programs for workers exiting the fossil fuel sector and subsidies to promote access to renewable energy.
Institutional framework for renewable energy: To facilitate the emergence and consolidation of renewable energy, complementary reforms will target governance, transparency and regulatory frameworks.
The case of Algeria: meeting the dual challenge of climate change and a costly and complex energy transition. The latter must be prepared now to absorb its costs over a longer period and create new growth engines. Three points to highlight.
Climate change is already a source of structural damage: in recent years, it has manifested itself through a series of shocks, including rising temperatures, erratic rainfall, heat or cold waves, droughts and floods. These shocks will continue to impact the country over the next few years, particularly in the most vulnerable sectors such as agriculture (crops and livestock), forests (fires and forest dieback), hydraulics in ecosystems north of the Sahara and health (vulnerability to many pathologies).
The main thrusts of the national strategy to combat climate change: according to the Ministry of the Environment and Renewable Energies, revolve around:
(1) the development of renewable energies by exploiting the significant potential of solar and wind energy; (2) adaptation to the challenges of water scarcity and desertification through investments in water management, agriculture and infrastructure resilience; (3) strengthening public policies and regulations: to support climate change objectives (stricter emission standards, incentives for renewable energy projects and sustainable land use practices); (4) continued international collaboration to facilitate the sharing of best practices, access to finance for climate projects, and participation in global climate negotiations; and (5) public awareness and education to foster public support for mitigation and adaptation efforts.
The strategy for managing the energy transition: in 2023, fossil fuels contributed 19.1% to gross domestic product (GDP), 91.3% to exports and 52% to total budget revenues. Algeria is ranked 54th in the 2024 Climate Change Performance Index. Taken together, these two elements underscore the extent of future efforts to decarbonize and diversify the national economy, especially as energy experts estimate that the country’s oil production is expected to peak in 2040 (this could vary depending on future economic trends, technological developments, and the efforts of companies and governments to mitigate climate change).
It is therefore vital that Algeria, like other fossil fuel-producing countries, accelerate economic diversification and make it a strategic priority. In the meantime, the ongoing global energy transition will add to long-standing uncertainties about the relative movements of fossil fuel demand and supply and will negatively impact fossil fuel-related exports, tax flows, investment and, consequently, external and fiscal accounts, economic growth and employment.
To address these challenges and move towards diversification, Algeria will need to step up its efforts to mitigate fiscal risks. In addition, fiscal policy should contribute to a reduction in national GHG emissions, by promoting the uptake of low-carbon technologies and helping the most vulnerable to cope with changes related to the energy transition.
In terms of broader macroeconomic risks, the authorities should address them by accelerating structural reforms targeting the emergence of new growth drivers. At the same time, improved regulation and financial supervision could limit financial sector exposures.
Finally, continued international coordination on the design and implementation of new climate policies as well as international transfer programmes (financing and capacity development) offer appropriate ways to address the uncertainties surrounding the energy transition and the associated negative economic consequences.
Oman’s vision for Muscat’s rejuvenation by FDI Intelligence is an eye-opener and a good interpretation of an atypical urban development .
A ‘paradigm shift’ mixed-use development is key to the country’s diversification agenda
Above image is for illustration and is credit to iStock
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Oman’s vision for Muscat’s rejuvenation
Pivotal project: the Al Khuwair Downtown and Waterfront master plan (rendering pictured) is aimed at transforming a brownfield site in the heart of Oman’s capital Muscat. Photo via Zaha Hadid Architects.
Oman plans to transform a vast brownfield site in its capital Muscat into a new mixed-use waterfront development as the country aims to promote tourism, attract multinationals and diversify its economy away from fossil fuels.The Al Khuwair Downtown and Waterfront development project, which was officially launched in February 2024, is a major part of a plan to reinvent the urban fabric of Oman’s capital city. Designed by Zaha Hadid Architects, the 3.3 million sq m project envisions the transformation of an administrative and industrial area close to the city’s airport into a new district.With an estimated cost of $1.3bn, the masterplan includes a marina dotted with a cultural centre, offices, residential, hotels and luxury retail developments. A new metro line will also be built to connect Al Khuwair with other parts of Muscat.“This creates a paradigm shift in the urban scenery of Muscat,” says Khalfan Al Shueili, who was appointed Oman’s minister of housing and urban planning in August 2020. As a “pivotal” part of the greater Muscat plan, the redevelopment is seen as a way to create a vibrant downtown in Oman’s rapidly expanding capital. Muscat’s population is forecast to almost double from 1.5 million today to 2.7 million in 2040.“For some time we have had our own way of building cities, but this [development] is trying to produce world-class, modern infrastructure [by the] waterfront,” says Mr Al Shueili. The mixed-use development project is “already at the heart of the city,” he says, and argues that it will produce a “ripple effect” for prospective foreign investors and the wider economy. In the first phase of the project, almost 500,000 sq m of office space will be built as a means to attract multinationals seeking a foothold in Oman.
“We aim to bring in a good consortium of investors who are very serious that aim to build long-term partnerships for Oman,” says Mr Al Shueili, who notes the aim is to attract investors, developers, contractors and manufacturers of components used in real estate development. “It will help us connect all of these dots and make [Al Khuwair] a success story.”
Vision 2040
Al Khuwair is one part of Oman Vision 2040, a nationwide initiative launched officially in July 2021, aimed at diversifying the oil-dependent economy. A pipeline of construction projects worth a total of $33bn have already been announced, including Sultan Haitham City, a sweeping project on Muscat’s outskirts which includes 20,000 new homes.
“Driving this Vision 2040 forward is not going to be an easy programme for us,” says Mr Al Shueli. “We have to let go of our dependence on oil and gas. We need to unlock all the potential of our country.”
Projects within Vision 2040 are ambitious enough to attract long-term strategic investors, but also “realistic in terms of size and variety”, says Mr Al Shueli. Given other Gulf countries have hugely ambitious projects, notably in Saudi Arabia, Oman’s goal is to complement these efforts and provide additional experiences to attract more tourists from abroad.
“We don’t see it really as competition. Some of the same developers in Saudi Arabia have shown interest in Oman. There is probably going to be a good value chain [of opportunity in these developments],” he says.
Tourism is a critical pillar of these efforts, with the Omani government targeting OR20bn ($51bn) of investment in the sector by 2040. More than three million tourists visited Oman in 2023, an increase of 41.2% on the previous year, according to official figures. The government aims to increase tourism’s contribution to gross domestic product from 4% today to 10% by 2040.
“Oman has a very big story in tourism. Its environment, heritage, different landscapes and the experiences that people get are not manufactured. They’re actually very authentic, genuine and accessible. Muscat is at the heart of that,” says Mr Al Shueili. A $2.4bn mountain tourism project on Jabal al Akhdar, which is situated about 95 miles from the capital, is another flagship initiative of the government to attract even more tourists.
Here is Laura of Connected World with a fairly useful blog series idea. It is supposedly applicable in the US but should it not be elsewhere like in the MENA?
The image above is for illustration – credit iStock
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Earth Day Series: A Focus on Water and Building Standards
We are currently embarking on a short Earth Day series, narrowing in on sustainability in the construction industry. Last week, we looked at overall sustainability in our buildings. Today, let’s narrow in on the conversation surrounding water and building standards.
In March, the Intl. Code Council shared the findings of a new report from the University of Miami, which found building standards are a defense against water scarcity. The IWCCP (Intl. Water Conservation Code Provisions) promotes water conservation through safe and sustainable practices.
In the book Sustainable in a Circular World, Peggy Smedley wrote about the dangers our world faces with water scarcity. Predicated on the current consumption rate, by 2025, two-thirds of the world’s population may face water shortages. And ecosystems around the world will suffer even more.
We need, then, a combination of new technologies and strategies for how to conserve water in our homes, buildings, and ultimately in our cities.
The report from the University of Miami determines baseline potable and non-potable water use and examines the potential water savings for one-and two-family dwellings in Phoenix, Las Vegas, Houston, and Des Moines based on adoption of four different water conservation strategies:
Adoption of more efficient plumbing fixtures;
Rainwater harvesting, treatment, storage, and reuse;
Graywater treatment, storage, and reuse;
HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) condensate catchment, treatment, storage, and reuse.
Let’s explore the outcomes in Houston first: Here optimized total water savings from all four strategies when integrated into new home construction alone is projected to be 23.3 billion gallons by 2029. Meanwhile, in Phoenix, we see that water savings are projected to be roughly 7.3 billion gallons annually. Additionally, the report researchers expect 1.7 billion gallons saved in Las Vegas and 1.57 billion gallons in Des Moines.
Across all the cities examined, the cost of one more water conservation approach is similar to the current cost per gallon of water consumption. The end result is addressing the very real challenge our world faces with water scarcity.
We know between two and three billion people worldwide experience water shortages—and these shortages will only intensify in the coming years. Something must be done to combat this. As this happens, the construction industry must step up and determine ways to save water today and in the future. What will your company do?
– our new study may warn us of future climate tipping points Martin H. Trauth, University of Potsdam; Asfawossen Asrat, Addis Ababa University, and Mark Maslin, UCL Image of Capitano Footage / shutterstock Around five and half millenia ago, northern Africa went through a dramatic transformation. The Sahara desert expanded and grasslands, forests and lakes favoured […]
. By Sanjana Gajbhiye Earth.com staff writer For centuries, desert travelers have relied on oases as life-giving sanctuaries. These pockets of green have sustained communities, fueled trade, and sparked imaginations. Yet, oases are under pressure. New research exposes the delicate balance between human intervention and natural forces such as desertification shaping the fate of these vital ecosystems. What is […]
Prefacing such a book is no small feat. You have to get into the swing of things, and whether it’s Moorish or Turkish, it doesn’t matter; the main thing is the feverish, friendly and vaporous atmosphere that reigns in the hot room, the quality of its accessories, such as the “kèssa”, the “tassa”, the “bligha” […]
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