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Second-annual flagship MENA Forum from the sidelines of UNGA

Sep 22, 2023

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‘Exploring MENA’s role in driving resilience through Sustainability’ was in the second-annual flagship MENA Forum from the sidelines of UNGA which was debated as described here below.

.The above featured image is for illustration

SRMG Think and the Middle East Institute co-host second-annual flagship MENA Forum from the sidelines of UNGA

Press Release post in Zawya of September 22, 2023

MENA COUNTRIES

Convening on the sidelines of the 78th Session of the UN General Assembly, the second edition of MENA Forum goes beyond the headlines to provide unparalleled insights through the lens of MENA’s leading figures and thinkers

The distinguished panelists and moderators include senior ministers from Egypt, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Turkey and Qatar as well as diplomats, leading experts and private sector decision-makers

MENA Forum 2023 will be livestreamed and will be available to watch here from 09:40AM EST on 22nd September

To coincide with the Forum, SRMG Think Research & Advisory publishes ‘MENA Forum Report: the case for cooperation beyond de-escalation’, providing a complementary examination of MENA’s potential for fostering regional collaboration across geopolitics, economics, and energy

New York – SRMG Think Research and Advisory (SRMG Think), an independent research and strategic advisory firm focused on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), is pleased to announce the second edition of its flagship annual MENA Forum, providing a global platform to showcase the region’s growing role in contributing innovative solutions to address important issues impacting the world today. Hosted in partnership with non-partisan think tank, the Middle East Institute (MEI), MENA Forum 2023 will convene on the sidelines of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York on Friday, September 22nd.

SRMG Think’s mission is to bridge the knowledge gap by offering data-driven, fact-based analysis and insights on the MENA region. Its dedicated team of leading experts and analysts serves as a trusted source for governments, businesses and NGOs seeking to better understand and navigate the region. The MENA Forum represents how SRMG Think utilizes its experienced team and global network to foster dialogue, promote understanding and offer fresh perspectives on a region undergoing significant transformation.

The exclusive one-day policy forum will explore topics at the heart of the global conversation as world leaders and policy-makers gather to discuss global priorities during UNGA’s high-level week. The Forum’s theme “MENA: Reinforcing Global Resilience Through Sustainability” will facilitate constructive dialogue examining the ways in which MENA can work with the international community to develop sustainable, long-term solutions to critical regional challenges. It will also provide a unique lens on how the region is evolving into a dynamic hub driving new trends and contributing to the global agenda.

As the MENA region assumes a greater leadership role on the world stage, the Forum will deliver unparalleled insights and address the region’s pivotal role in the energy transition, global peace and stability efforts, and economic sustainability. The Forum will similarly explore how enhanced cooperation among key regional players is fostering sustainable development and stability.

The Forum will provide a collaborative environment for a diverse range of regional policy-makers, diplomats, leading experts and private sector decision-makers to deliver distinct perspectives through eight high-level keynotes, talks and panels. This year’s participants include Her Excellency Rania Al Mashat, Minister of International Cooperation, and Governor for the World Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the African Development Bank, and other international institutions, Arab Republic of Egypt; His Excellency Dr. Ayman Al Safadi, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan; Her Excellency Mariam Almheiri, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, United Arab Emirates; Ahmet Yıldız, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Türkiye; His Excellency Dr. Majed Al Ansari, Advisor to the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Spokesperson, State of Qatar; Timothy Lenderking, U.S. Special Envoy for Yemen, United States Department of State; Dr. Amer Bisat, Managing Director and Global Head of Emerging Markets, BlackRock; and Dr. Sara Vakhshouri, Founder and President, SVB Energy International, among others.

Neil Quilliam, Director of Energy, SRMG Think, said: “As MENA continues to achieve its development aspirations and evolves into an engine for global growth, it has become increasingly important for governments, businesses and decision-makers to understand the region. However, there is currently a lack of actionable insights that these entities and individuals can rely on. In light of this, a MENA-focused UNGA side event, featuring invaluable perspectives from the region, is more crucial than ever. The MENA Forum fosters open and frank discussions on the economic, political, and environmental challenges and opportunities present in MENA through the lens of regional leaders and the brightest thinkers. SRMG Think’s mission is to provide independent research and advisory and this event, co-hosted with MEI, demonstrates how our deep regional and global network provides a roadmap to navigate a rapidly evolving region.”

Paul Salem, President and CEO, Middle East Institute, said: “MEI is proud to collaborate with SRMG Think on this year’s MENA Forum. As the world confronts challenges around energy transition, climate change, economic diversification, trade, and human security, the MENA region remains a focal point where all of these complex dynamics converge. It is critical to bring leaders and policy practitioners from the region to engage with the international community in order to build on common interests and opportunities for a better global future.”

Think Research – ‘MENA Forum Report: the case for cooperation beyond de-escalation’

This research report complements MENA Forum 2023’s dialogue concerning the evolving dynamics within the MENA region. The report explores MENA’s potential for promoting regional cooperation and contends that the de-escalation of tensions in the region has opened a window of opportunity for states to collaborate on pressing, shared issues in three key areas: geopolitics and security, economics, and energy. However, the report underscores that while factors such as the rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran have helped create an opening for regional states to cooperate, this time-limited opportunity must be seized now to boost long-term stability and support energy transition.

Geopolitics and Security: The shift towards multipolarity in the global order, driven by factors such as rising great power competition between the United States and China, and the reprioritization of US interests towards the Indo-Pacific, has allowed ‘middle powers’ in the MENA region to rise in importance. MENA countries are responding to global power shifts by pursuing de-escalation and greater intra-regional cooperation. Factors motivating this shift include both the ‘great power’ competition, the Iranian threat, and the need for economic sustainability. As a result, the region is acting as a bridge in an increasingly fragmented global political order and MENA states have also adjusted their approaches towards each other on issues such as regional security, investment and financial aid, and trade relations. However, the report emphasizes that the progress made in de-escalation and regional cooperation must be fortified by more robust foundations to ensure its endurance.
Economics: MENA’s economic performance is divided into two contrasting regions: high-income GCC countries and middle-to-low-income economies. This disparity has been exacerbated as high oil prices have supported GCC growth and economic diversification. Oil revenues for GCC countries amounted to more than US$570 billion in 2022 (Saudi: US$311 billion, the UAE: US$119 billion, Kuwait: US$98 billion, and Oman: US$42.9 billion). While lower-income nations in the region grapple with high public debt levels, and difficulties accessing capital markets, GCC countries, buoyed by high oil prices, are advancing robustly with their economic diversification policies, offering the prospect of financial support to their lower-income neighbors. However, the GCC’s new investment strategy focuses on profitable investments and attaches conditions for financial support, including often painful IMF reforms. The GCC’s change in approach from delivering financial aid to MENA countries to focusing on strategic investments that deliver financial returns reflects their aim to secure and grow their wealth – in full recognition of the eventual shift away from hydrocarbons – while still influencing regional development and underpinning stability. This approach provides a newfound opportunity for lower-income MENA countries to implement structural reforms for positive economic development.
Energy: As the MENA region embarks on a journey to redefine its energy landscape, it confronts a series of challenges from rising energy demands to the urgent need for integrating renewable resources into existing infrastructural setups. The technical and financial requirements of these increasingly complex energy systems require regional collaboration on multiple fronts: in electricity grid interconnections and exchange markets and cross-border renewable energy investments, and in knowledge and technology sharing. The abundant yet unevenly dispersed renewable energy resources in the region which sees varying levels of wind and solar resources for instance, further underscores the need for a strategy rooted in cross-border collaboration to achieve ambitious energy targets. Both the ambitious strides towards energy diversification and the region’s extreme vulnerability to the impacts of climate change mean that this collaboration is increasingly essential.

The report finds that MENA is at a critical juncture and must capitalize on the current momentum and lay the foundations for the long-term cooperation in geopolitics, economics, and energy that is essential for addressing common challenges and mutual gain in the region.

About SRMG Think Research and Advisory:

SRMG Think Research and Advisory is an independent research and strategic advisory firm focused on the MENA region, helping entities navigate a complex global landscape and support decision-makers with unique insights and data. The firm’s leading advisory industry talent, comprising experts and analysts from top institutions, such as the United Nations, the World Bank and Chatham House, has a deep understanding of the region, which Think leverages for its strong suite of services providing unique insights, analysis, and evidence-based views in the areas of energy, geopolitics, macroeconomics, and media. Think’s deep regional knowledge is further bolstered by being a firm born out of the Saudi Research and Media Group (SRMG), the largest integrated media group from the MENA region, with a 50+-year legacy of independent coverage on the MENA region.

For more information, please visit: http://www.thinkresearchandadvisory.com and http://www.srmgthink.com.

About the Middle East Institute:

Founded in 1946, the Middle East Institute is the oldest Washington-based institution dedicated solely to the study of the Middle East. MEI has earned a reputation as an unbiased source of information and analysis on this critical region of the world, a reputation it has meticulously safeguarded since its creation. Today, MEI remains a respected, non-partisan voice in the field of Middle East studies. http://www.mei.edu.

Arab youth ready to boycott environment-damaging brands

Sep 21, 2023

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The Gulf Cooperation Council Arab youth ready to boycott environment-damaging brands with 58% ready to support calls to boycott brands that harm the environment.

Above Image: Shutterstock

Arab youth ready to boycott environment-damaging brands, survey finds

By Arabian Business

Arab youth in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states lead the charge at 65 percent, followed by North Africa at 58 percent, and the Levantine nations at 51 percent.

A majority of Arab youth are prepared to endorse calls for boycotting brands detrimental to the environment, according to the 15^th annual ASDA’A BCW Arab Youth Survey.

This percentage stands at 58 percent, with notable variations across regions. Youth in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states lead the charge at 65 percent, followed by North Africa at 58 percent, and the Levantine nations at 51 percent.

The survey, released on September 21 to coincide with Zero Emissions Day, indicates mounting apprehension among Arab youth about climate change’s impact on their daily lives.

An astonishing 66 percent of respondents, the highest in five years, expressed being ‘very concerned’ about this global challenge.

With climate crisis asserting its immediate presence in the region, a substantial 71 percent of all respondents affirmed that global warming is already affecting their lives. This sentiment is most pronounced in North Africa (76 percent) and the GCC states (74 percent), and somewhat lower but still significant in the Levantine countries (63 percent).

Despite this, 87 percent of Arab youth believe their governments are taking positive action against climate crisis.

However, 56 percent feel that governments should set transparent and accountable targets for achieving net zero emissions.

Presently, only a handful of countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) have set such targets, including the GCC states and Iraq.

Regarding the role of Arab countries in tackling global warming compared to other nations, less than half (42 percent) of the surveyed youth believe that Arab nations should do more.

When it comes to addressing global warming, opinions are divided, with 49 percent advocating for lifestyle changes and 47 percent pinning their hopes on technological advancements.

Climate Change awareness among Arab youth

Sunil John, President of MENA at BCW and Founder of ASDA’A BCW, highlighted the region’s significance in the global climate change dialogue due to its energy resources.

“The Middle East is home to some of the world’s largest energy producers and proven oil and gas reserves. This has positioned the Arab world at the heart of the global climate change dialogue. With Egypt hosting the COP27 UN Climate Change Conference in 2022 and the UAE preparing to welcome the world for COP28 this year, the region is once again in the global spotlight,” he said.

He also stressed the vulnerability of the MENA region to climate change, citing increased temperatures, frequent heatwaves, and water scarcity as pressing concerns.

“Amidst all this, it is encouraging that the region’s largest demographic, its over 200 million youth, understand the implications of climate change. Most are also willing to support the boycott of brands damaging nature. It is important that businesses take heed of their sentiment and make genuine efforts to minimise their environmental impact by aligning their values with the aspirations of the region’s youth,” he added.

This survey of over 200 million Arab youth underscores the urgent need for climate action, both on a governmental and corporate level.

With the Middle East at the center of climate discussions, the region’s youth are poised to play a pivotal role in driving change and holding businesses accountable for their environmental impact.

The virtue of green choice for Qatar

Sep 20, 2023

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The virtue of green choice for Qatar could well be served by only reducing all greenhouse gas emissions across all sectors by 25% by 2030 . . .

The above-featured image is for illustration and is credit to Middle-East campaign.

The virtue of green choice for Qatar

Dr. Yassine Talaoui in The Peninsula of 20 Sep 2023

Qatar seeks to increase LNG production by 63% by 2027 and commits to reducing greenhouse gas emissions across all sectors by 25 percent by 2030. Though the two goals may sound contradictory, the curious mind muses on how this could lead Qatar to fashion a dual role as both gas exporter and green-energy powerhouse. Further, the challenge in setting up Qatar’s dual energy role isn’t in the potential or commitment. After all, the region has witnessed multiple attempts of diversifying commodity-based economies to no avail.

How can Qatar square the circle, then? Put simply, by coming through with the finance and the mechanics of spending it.

Allow me to explain.

Since its discovery in 1972, Gas has propelled Qatar development into a wealthy and ambitious state. The kind of ambition that landed Qatar the FIFA World Cup and carved it a role as a regional problem solver. The time now has come to use that very same commodity to build a different economic future for generations to come.

Last year, Qatar has reported a budget surplus of $24billion. This cash excess is likely to swell further due to the increasing gas demand caused by the Ukraine-Russia Crisis, which has turned gas into the new oil. Qatar’s ministry of finance could use this surplus to beef up the Qatar Investment Authority to snap up some trophy assets. But it could also divert these proceeds toward building electric grids capable of handling the transition to clean energy. In the long run, the latter option translates to choosing action today and fewer tradeoffs ahead. It would mean spreading the cost of climate change by securing a more productive hydrocarbon-free economy for Qatar, fewer emissions, and lowering the risk of flooding and extreme heat. As such, Qatar could power its growth using renewable grids, which would replace the ones running on hydrocarbons. In this vein, Qatar’s high solar potential could be used to develop solar energy projects to create thousand megawatts of solar generation capacity.

As the country expands its domestic production capacity by $30billion to swell further gas revenues, pumping these surpluses into renewable grids would elevate Qatar to a much higher level of success toward reaching NetZero emissions. This necessitates a pledge to invest continuously in green development projects that can reduce emissions and spur carbon-free economic growth. Such an aim can be achieved via proper carbon pricing and international emissions trading to persuade the private sector to join forces for Qatar’s decarbonizing efforts. Government aids and loans can follow with green strings to incentivize the private sector to contribute to cutting emissions and converting hydrocarbon-powered consumption to a green one.

Becoming an even bigger player in gas production would mean Qatar can pour gas proceeds into clean manufacturing and diversifying local economies. As cash flows in, Qatar’s transition away from hydrocarbons speeds up and its competitiveness in the non-hydrocarbon economy rises. It is possible to imagine how such a virtuous cycle of hydrocarbon proceeds and clean-economy growth might lead to more investment and trade that lifts Qatar’s living standards and broadens prosperity for its population. The gas bonanza can be used to finance essential infrastructure and desalination projects that can help Qatar’s cities stay habitable amid rising temperatures. Environmental journalist Gaia Vince argues, in her book “Nomad Century, that regions populated by close to 3.5 billion people would become unsuitable for living if the world temperature grew by a mere 4 degrees.

Gas has been and continues to be a valuable source of foreign exchange for Qatar. With its revenues, the government can continue its social spending, school, healthcare, and public services funding, and direct what is left of its budget toward green economy maneuvers. These entail a series of projects such as waste-processing plants, a big sea wall, or even swapping to electric buses. At the global level, these moves will bring Qatar closer to the COP national climate targets. At the national level, they will shield Qatar from regional and global crises 10 to 20 years from now. And most importantly, on Qatar’s balance sheet, their cost can be afforded today.

By acting now, Qatar can avoid the tradeoff, lying ahead, between climate and development. As temperatures rise and world poverty presses, the tradeoff is imminent. Weird as it may sound, Qatar’s gas production expansion is its exit plan from a hydrocarbon-based economy toward a diversified economy aimed at lowering environmental risks and ecological scarcities and building infrastructure that promotes social and environmental sustainability.

Dr. Yassine Talaoui is Assistant Professor of Strategic Management at the Center for Entrepreneurship and Organizational Excellence, College of Business and Economics, Qatar University.

Climate Change made Libya’s deadly rainfall

Sep 19, 2023

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BERLIN, Sept 19 (Reuters) – Climate Change made the heavy rainfall that led to deadly floods in Libya up to 50 times more likely, scientists said on Tuesday.

The powerful Sept. 10 storm caused two dams to break, inundating Libya’s eastern city of Derna and killing thousands of people. Residential blocks built along a typically dry riverbank toppled, as the swollen river undermined foundations.

Building in flood plains, poor dam conditions, long-lasting armed conflict and other local factors played a role in the disaster.

But climate change caused up to 50% more rain during that period, according to scientists with World Weather Attribution, an international research collaboration that works to determine how much climate change plays a role in specific weather events.

The scientists warned that as climate change pushes weather to new extremes, it would remain risky to build homes on flood plains or to use substandard materials.

“The interaction of these factors, and the very heavy rain that was worsened by climate change, created the extreme destruction [in Libya]”, the scientists wrote in a statement.

They used climate and computer simulations to compare weather events today with what they might have been if the climate had not already warmed by 1.2 degrees Celsius above the average preindustrial temperature.

Rainfall can increase or become more erratic with climate change, as a warmer atmosphere can hold more water vapour – allowing more moisture to build up before clouds finally break.

The “extremely unusual” storm event delivered 50% more rain than it would have if there was no global warming, according to the scientists’ research. Such an event can be expected once every 300-600 years in the current climate, they said.

Meanwhile, climate change also caused up to a 40% increase in the amount of rain that fell in early September across the Mediterranean, causing floods that killed dozens in Greece, Bulgaria and Turkey.

“The Mediterranean is a hotspot of climate change-fueled hazards,” said Friederike Otto, a climate scientist at the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment, citing heatwaves and wildfires in the region over summer.

Reuters – Reporting by Riham Alkousaa Editing by Alexandra Hudson

Sustainable tourism journey: Much more to be done

Sep 18, 2023

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Sustainable tourism journey: Much more to be done

DUBAI, 1 day ago

The above-featured image is for illustration and is HuffPost.com.

Bain & Company recently launched a report highlighting the increasing demand for sustainable tourism among leisure travellers across the globe, driving the market for sustainable tourism to develop strongly in the coming years.

Leisure travellers worldwide will choose destinations and providers (airlines, hotels, restaurants, and tour companies) based on their sustainability records and are starting to pay a premium for it, said the report titled: “Sustainable Tourism: An Untapped Opportunity for Green Growth.”

The research showed that travellers feel that the travel and tourism sector is not making enough effort to be more sustainable and there is much this sector can do to protect the environment.

Karim Henain

We spoke to Karim Henain, Partner, Bain & Company Middle East on some of the issues raised by the report. Here’s an excerpt:

What are some of the key findings in the report?

Following a dip in 2020, tourism is again on the rise, expected to reach $17 trillion in size by 2027, compared to $11 trillion prior to Covid-19. There is an increasing appetite for more sustainable tourism among leisure travellers across the globe, driving the market for sustainable tourism to develop strongly in the coming years. Leisure travelers worldwide will choose destinations and providers (airlines, hotels, restaurants, and tour companies) based on their sustainability records and are starting to pay a premium for it. On the other hand, research shows that travellers feel that the travel and tourism sector is making little or no effort to be more sustainable, indicating that there is still much room for the sector to respond and make a difference.

What makes sustainability enthusiasts such an important target group?

Sustainability enthusiasts were found in the six markets covered in the research (Germany, Italy, France, the UK, Saudi Arabia, and China), but demographics varied by market.

For example, sustainability enthusiasts from China and Saudi Arabia were predominantly highly educated (university or higher) Millennials, whereas their European counterparts were almost equally spread across age groups, income, and education levels.

Sustainability enthusiasts are such an important group, because compared with the rest of the survey respondents, they were:

4x more likely to consider sustainability aspects as “extremely important” when choosing a holiday destination.
7x more likely to recommend a holiday destination driven by sustainability considerations.
1.6x more willing to pay for more sustainable choices, at a premium of 15 to 20 percentage points compared to non-enthusiasts.

While we recognise that there is a “say vs do” gap in terms of what consumers actually choose and how much more they are willing to pay for more sustainable choices, sustainability enthusiasts remain a significant segment that countries can tackle through different sustainability offerings.

What is the status of sustainable tourism in UAE, KSA and Egypt?

Driven by the opportunity presented by sustainable tourism, holiday destinations and travel and tourism providers worldwide take steps to improve their sustainability performance and traveller perception of how sustainable their practices and offerings are. Egypt has already launched several initiatives to improve the sustainability performance of its travel and tourism sector.

To evaluate how travellers perceive Egypt’s sustainability efforts, we asked the survey respondents to rank Egypt’s sustainability performance vs main competing destinations in MENA (Greece, Turkey, Tunisia, UAE, Morocco).

Overall, Greece ranked first as the holiday destination perceived to be most sustainable, while Egypt ranked fourth.

On the other hand, the perception of Egypt significantly improved among sustainability enthusiasts, while we saw significant differences in how Egypt and other competing destinations were perceived across the different markets (China, Saudi Arabia, Europe).

What is the status of sustainable tourism in the UAE?

The UAE has taken multiple steps towards sustainable tourism. For example, Dubai has recently launched, in collaboration with the hospitality sector, the Dubai Sustainable Tourism stamp, which encourages hotels throughout the Emirate to take initiatives around energy and water efficiency, waste management, and staff education and engagement.

Our research shows that the perception of the UAE with regards to sustainable tourism remains to be still in the middle of the pack, however, with significant variation among different traveller segments. For example, sustainability enthusiasts from the ME region see UAE to be the top destination for sustainable tourism compared to other markets. Whereas individuals from the same segment from other markets (e.g., China and Europe) see the UAE lagging other regional tourism markets.

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« Older Entries

Second-annual flagship MENA Forum from the sidelines of UNGA

SRMG Think and the Middle East Institute co-host second-annual flagship MENA Forum from the sidelines of UNGA

Arab youth ready to boycott environment-damaging brands

Arab youth ready to boycott environment-damaging brands, survey finds

Climate Change awareness among Arab youth

The virtue of green choice for Qatar

The virtue of green choice for Qatar

Climate Change made Libya’s deadly rainfall

Climate Change made Libya’s deadly rainfall up to 50 times more likely – study

Sustainable tourism journey: Much more to be done

Sustainable tourism journey: Much more to be done

The above-featured image is for illustration and is HuffPost.com.

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