Slow Food and regenerative farming may be an answer.

FMD doesn’t infect humans, but the damage it causes to livestock—and to farmers’ livelihoods—is severe. The virus spreads quickly among animals like cattle, sheep, pigs, and goats. It causes fever and painful blisters on the mouth and feet, leading to lameness, less milk and meat production, and in some cases, sudden death in younger animals.

Europe, which is usually free of FMD, is now facing its worst outbreak since 2001. Germany detected a case in January 2025 and managed to contain it, but since then the disease has spread to Hungary and Slovakia, and is proving harder to stop. As a result, the UK has banned meat and dairy imports from affected countries, including Austria due to its proximity to Hungary.

The economic fallout from FMD is enormous. Even in countries where the disease is common, it causes an estimated $21 billion in losses every year—mostly from reduced productivity and the cost of vaccines. But when trade bans, culling, and market disruptions are included, the true financial impact is far greater. For small-scale farmers and rural communities, a single outbreak can be devastating.

In response, FAO is calling on all countries to strengthen their prevention and response efforts. This includes increasing public awareness, especially among farmers and market workers; improving on-farm biosecurity by keeping sick animals isolated and stopping the spread of contaminated equipment or people; and making sure that vaccines, where used, are carefully matched to the circulating virus strain.

Vaccination can be very effective, but it needs to be part of a larger strategy that includes active surveillance, testing, and fast action when new outbreaks are detected. Countries should also review their contingency plans to ensure they can respond quickly to new outbreaks. This includes having clear procedures for isolating infected areas, investigating the source, and carrying out targeted vaccinations.

FMD may not pose a health threat to people, but its impact on food systems is real. It affects what we eat, how much it costs, and the stability of trade between countries. The recent outbreaks are a reminder that animal diseases don’t respect borders—and that early detection, clear communication, and coordinated action are the best tools we have to protect both animals and livelihoods.

As the FAO warns, staying alert now could prevent much greater harm later.

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Moderate Middle East energy countries understand the importance of green energy policies as fossil fuels will no longer be relevant in a climate-sensitive world. The United Arab Emirates renewable energy company Masdar and Bapco Energies from Bahrain will co-develop up to 2GW of wind projects in the Kingdom of Bahrain, both parties announced this week.

This is Masdar’s first energy foray in Bahrain, and it’s with the nation’s energy leader Bapco Energies. The agreement will focus on exploring the joint development of near-shore and offshore wind projects and will support the Kingdom of Bahrain’s National Energy Strategy target to cut emissions by 30 percent by 2030.

“As a global clean energy pioneer, Masdar will utilize its well-established expertise and track record in delivering wind energy projects globally, both onshore and offshore. It is a privilege to be supporting the Kingdom of Bahrain to achieve its net zero ambitions and power a more sustainable future,” says Masdar Chief Executive Officer, Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi.

“Today marks a significant milestone in Bapco Energies’ pathway towards sustainable energy development. Our partnership with Masdar demonstrates our commitment towards diversifying the Kingdom of Bahrain’s energy mix to include cleaner energy sources, underscoring our role as leaders in renewable energy development. This strategic collaboration signifies a bold step towards realizing the ambitions outlined in Bahrain’s National Energy Strategy, propelling us closer to our net-zero goals. Together, we will pave the way for a more sustainable and resilient future for generations to come,” says Bapco Energies Group Chief Executive Officer Mark Thomas.

Masdar has developed a number of landmark wind projects across the world, including the 400MW Dumat Al Jandal wind farm, the largest in the Middle East and the first in Saudi Arabia, the 630MW London Array offshore wind project in the United Kingdom which powers half a million British homes and the 103.5MW UAE Wind Program, which utilizes innovative technology to capture low wind speeds at utility scale.

Masdar is aiming for a renewable energy portfolio capacity of 100GW by 2030, as well as supporting the target set out in The UAE Consensus to triple global renewables capacity by the end of this decade, and aims to be a leading producer of green hydrogen by the same year.

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The Arab Energy Fund, previously known as the Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (APICORP), has announced a significant commitment of $1 billion to drive energy transition and decarbonization efforts. APICORP is wholly owned by the ten member states of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC).

The Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries is a multi-governmental organization headquartered in Kuwait which coordinates energy policies among oil-producing Arab nations. Member countries include Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and the United Arab Emirates. (Egypt’s membership was suspended in 1979, but it was readmitted in 1989. Tunisia ceased to be a member in 1987.) The headquarters are in Kuwait.

This investment, revealed at COP28 in Dubai, is what the oil and gas companies say is part of a strategic shift towards environmentally and socially responsible initiatives, including technological advancements for enhanced energy efficiencies and developing new value chains in the region.

APICORP focused on the MENA energy sector  planned investment of up to US $1 billion over the next five years towards advancing energy transition with a focus on decarbonization and related technologies. These could include hydrogen energy and storage breakthroughs and carbon sequestration technologies.

The Arab Energy Fund will rebalance its overall portfolio with continued loan growth and an enhanced focus on equity investments while continuing to innovate to expand its range of financing and direct equity solutions and expert advisory services.

Khalid Ali Al-Ruwaigh, CEO of The Arab Energy Fund announced at COP28: “The Arab Energy Fund transformative strategy marks the institution’s next chapter, deeply rooted in our 50-year legacy and our distinctive role in the MENA energy sector.

“It highlights our commitment to impact-driven solutions, leveraging our deep industry expertise and regional access to enable the evolving energy landscape towards a net-zero world. Our strategy involves diversifying investments by championing technological advancements for enhanced energy efficiencies and driving sustained decarbonization efforts. Additionally, we are extending our investment scope beyond the core value chain, actively cultivating and shaping value chains within the region.”

He added: “Our new strategy and name signify not only our dedication to empowering the region’s energy ecosystem but also resonate with our mission to create a meaningful impact by promoting economic growth, boosting local value chains and local content, through skill development, and fostering knowledge creation.”

Following the establishment of its green bond framework in 2021, the institution set a precedent in sustainable finance by issuing the first-ever green bond issuance by an energy-focused financial institution in the MENA region. The US-denominated five-year benchmark issuance raised an impressive US $750 million, over US $610 million of which has already been allocated to 11 projects in the region.

Currently, 18% of the institution’s US $4.5 billion existing loan portfolio, is dedicated to supporting environmentally and socially responsible initiatives, fostering collaboration between the public and private sectors, and pioneering a path toward more sustainable financing.

The Arab Energy Fund is also in the process of enhancing its ESG Policy Framework, also introduced in 2021, demonstrating the institution’s strong commitment to incorporating responsible business practices into its operations. This effort reflects the institution’s leadership in shaping a more sustainable and responsible future for all.

As the MENA region’s only multilateral impact financial institution, The Arab Energy Fund is also committed to backing the 2050 net zero commitments made by its member countries. The institution has publicly affirmed the imperative need for collective climate action to align with the significant goals laid out in the UN Paris Agreement.

In line with this commitment, the institution introduced several innovative financial solutions that are considered regional firsts, including its pioneering US $75 million Murabaha facility for voluntary carbon offsets and financing of distributed power portfolios.

The Arab Energy Fund stands among the highest-rated financial institutions in the MENA region, boasting ‘AA’ rating from Fitch, alongside ‘Aa2’ from Moody’s and ‘AA-‘ from S&P. This strong endorsement from the rating agencies and the robust regional support from member countries, along with substantial backing from the region’s energy ministries, underpinned by strong liquidity and credit profiles, positions the institution as a key player in championing a pragmatic and sustainable energy future.

The Arab Energy Fund – formerly the Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (APICORP) – is a multilateral impact financial institution focused on the MENA energy sector established in 1974 by the ten Arab oil-exporting countries.

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I was having breakfast with an American friend who’d come to visit me in Bahrain. Together we sat in a hotel restaurant, windows on all sides looking down on the city hurtling past below. We’d come there to meet with a woman from an Arabian Gulf state I was interviewing for my book, Hear Us Speak: Letters From Arab Women, which paints a portrait, through a series of interviews, of what life is like for Arab women today.  This includes the difficult consequences they face due to a lack of legislation protecting some of their most basic human rights. 

When we saw the woman walking toward us, my friend turned to me and said quietly, “She’s completely covered. I didn’t expect a woman wearing a hijab would be able to speak openly about these subjects for your book.”

This notion—that being modest and conservative means you must be silent and submissive—is by far the most incorrect perception the West has of women who cover their faces and heads.  On top of that, as my friend affirmed, Westerners often assume that a woman in a hijab or abaya is not only submissive, but that she is also being controlled or abused.

As a Bharanian woman and the mother of a beautiful young adult daughter, I know that this is simply not true. I know that women who choose to wear hijabs or abayas have opinions and character, just the same as any woman in the West. Their choice to cover their hair and dress in a more conservative fashion is just that: a choice, rooted in their beliefs.  

I meet women every day who are living proof that a scarf covering the hair does not signify helplessness. Often, it is quite the opposite. One such woman is a Saudi media icon I interview in Hear Us Speak. She began her career teaching at the university in Riyadh.  At the time she was  considered something of a rebel—she was a muthajba, meaning she wore the conservative head scarf and modest clothing.  Yet she didn’t believe in the existing structures and was always challenging her students. 

One day she was invited to be a panelist on a talk show—the Arabic equivalent of “The View.” She saw it as a chance to be a pioneer.  The university’s administrator told her, “If you take this job, I will fire you.” But she fought back, saying, “You have male lecturers who are not fired for being on television. I should be awarded the same rights.”

Some conservative women in Saudi Arabia did not accept her. They called her kafara, which means infidel, a woman of no religion. And yet many Saudi women thought it was wonderful to have a Saudi woman representing them on this pan-Arab talk show panel.  

The TV show experienced huge success. It was the number-one talk show for seventeen years, and received numerous accolades and awards. She had taken a chance, and decided to be a pioneer facing all the consequences, head on. Today, she says she’s very glad she did.

She’s also very proud to wear a headscarf. She told me: “I wear this by choice, and I believe in it. It might not be for everyone, but it is for me. I never doubted the concept of wearing a hijab.”  And she is not alone.  Countless Muslim women, including in the Arab world, feel proud and even empowered wearing a hijab.  There are many reasons, including solidarity, national pride and faith. As this article in The Conversation explains, “some Muslim women in America may wear the hijab as a way of asserting their pride in the face of Islamophobia.”

The woman my friend and I met in the hotel told us:  “The strength of a woman has nothing to do with whether or not she chooses to cover her hair. There is no correlation. Wearing a hijab (headscarf) does not mean a woman is submissive. I have friends who wear it, and it’s perfectly normal. There are many different reasons a woman might wear one—it could be religion, family influence, cultural influence. But it does not take away her strength.”

My hope is that rather than focusing on the hijab and the myths surrounding it, the Western world will become aware of the far more real and pressing issues Arab women face today: the difficult consequences of a lack of legislation, including a lack of legal protection in all areas of society, from business to family life.  I wrote Hear Us Speak to bring these issues to light.

_____

Suzan Kanoo is widely considered to be one of the leading business women of Bahrain and has proven to be successful in many fields. After completing her degree in economics in the US, she joined the family business of KE Kanoo Group and was able to grow the car trading business to new heights. Aside from her work in business and investment, she is a sought-after speaker at global events, a writer and poet, and active in volunteering work for refugees, visiting camps all over the world under the banner of the UN.

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Two dry Persian Gulf countries are amping up their desalination capacity: Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates. Both have access to Persian Gulf waters but very little freshwater access inland.

Toray, the Japanese builder of desalination plants sent us the official news that they will build two new reverse osmosis plants (RO Plants), the Al Dur 2 Desalination Plant in the Kingdom of Bahrain and Umm Al Quwain Desalination Plant in the United Arab Emirates.

An estimated 1,500 seawater desalination plants are operating in the Gulf. Most of these plants, including the 24 largest (based on production capacity ≥100,000 (m3/day), are located on the Arabian coast near the shallow southwestern region of the Gulf (Global Water Intelligence). The Gulf region consumes about 57.9% of the world’s desalinated water. 

In the new plants, the combined water capacity will amount to 911,000 m3 /day, and the Umm Al Quwain Desalination Plant alone will hold one of the world’s largest capacity with 681,000 m3 /day fresh water production.

Toray will provide the membranes which are regarded to be the most sophisticated element in a desalination plant. The membrane filters out salt and other impurities, which leaving brine behind.

Persian Gulf countries are heavily investing in water desalination to supply water to a growing population with growing needs in agriculture and industry. The RO desalination plants built by Toray and which countries like Israel also specialises in, consume less energy to operate compared to thermal desalination plants. The world’s largest desalination plant using RO was in Israel. Researchers at  its major universities are developing new membrane technologies to make the process more efficient. 

It is assumed that desalination is a sweet spot of cooperation between Israel and the Emirates now that peace has been embraced warmly by both sides, and an interest in serious financial investment from both sides. See the Phoenix and Ourcrowd story. 

Critics of desalination plants say the energy investment to run them is too high and contributes to an unnecessary amount of carbon dioxide emissions, as well as polluting brine which is fed back to the sea. 

The Al Dur 2 Desalination Plant:

Al Dur, Kingdom of Bahrain Production capacity: 230,000 cubic meters daily Expected Operation: 2022 EPC Contractor: SIDEM Veolia (France).

Bahrain, or the Kingdom of Bahrain, is a sovereign state in the Persian Gulf. The island nation comprises a small archipelago made up of 51 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered around Bahrain Island which makes up around 83 percent of the country’s landmass.

Bahrain does not operate hydroelectic dams, centralized irrigation systems or large water wellfields. Its water infrastructure consists mainly of desalination and wastewater treatment plants.

In the water supply sector the Bahrain government has developed plans for meeting the increasing water (and electricity) demand over the next 15 years. It is expected that by 2030, the total desalinated water production will increase from its current level of 0.82 MCM/d (300 MCM/yr) to 1.41 MCM/d (515 MCM/yr), an increase of about 72%, according to Fanack Water.

It is also expected that all these new desalination plants will be implemented and managed by the private sector, i.e. an independent water and power plant.

Umm Al Quwain Desalination Plant Location:

Umm Al Quwain, United Arab Emirates Production capacity: 681,000 cubic meters daily Expected Operation: 2022 Engineering and Procurement: SIDEM Veolia (France)

The United Arab Emirates sometimes just called the Emirates or the UAE is a sovereign state in Western Asia at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It borders with Oman and Saudi Arabia, and has maritime borders in the Persian Gulf with Qatar and Iran.

While Abu Dhabi, one of the Emirates nations claims that it is developing technologies to increase rainfall over its desert nation, in reality desalination plants are critical for supplying freshwater to a growing population.

Abu Dhabi’s energy resources and financial wealth from oil and gas make it able to meet water and food needs using desalintion, but these systems can be seen as fragile, and vulnerable in the event there is conflict in the region. 

Seawater desalination is not an efficient process, also follow this article with Gidon Bromberg, with unit water costs reaching 5 to 10 times higher than extracting water from an aquifer. The desalination process is damaging to local environmental systems and over time the process becomes even more inefficient as thick saline residues build up. over time due to the thick saline residue left over from desalination. The Gulf States don’t have much of an option and now rely on about 1,500 desalination plants to supply its freshwater. 

More on desalination:
Saudi Arabia to Use Sun Power at Desalination Plant
New Hadera Desalination Plant Could Revive the Dying Jordan River
Japan and Saudi Arabia Co-develop Desalination Technologies

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Bahrain, in the Middle East is one of the most wasteful nations on earth, according to the World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF) 2014 Living Planet Report (download the PDF here), published recently. Bahrain as the ninth worst offender in terms of the environmental impact it has on the planet, per head of population.

But Bahrain is not lonely among its neighbors: Kuwaitis, the report highlighted had biggest “ecological footprint”. They consume more resources per person than any other country in the world followed then by Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

“We are on a totally unsustainable path … and are living beyond our boundaries,” says Marco Lambertini, general director for the WWF.

The rest of the top 10 offenders were Denmark, Belgium, Trinidad and Tobago, Singapore and the United States, with Bahrain and Sweden listed in ninth and tenth place, respectively. Funny, because Swedes consider themselves so eco-conscious. Maybe due to a bad conscience.

“The size and composition of a nation’s per capita ecological footprint reflects the goods and services used by an average person in that country, and the efficiency with which resources, including fossil fuels, are used in providing these goods and services,” the report summed up.

It continued: “If all people on the planet had the footprint of the average resident of Qatar, we would need 4.8 planets. If we lived the lifestyle of a typical resident of the US, we would need 3.9.”

Many of the poorer countries on the list, countries like India, Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of Congo had an ecological footprint that our world could sustain.

Resources monitored were based on trees being felled, groundwater pumped and CO2 being emitted faster than the earth can deal with it.

Ways Muslims can deal with excessive waste can include reusing water from prayer rituals by recycling it in gardens (for pious plants!), demanding more efficient modes of public transport and buying less packaged foods.

ChameleonsEye / Shutterstock.com

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Together with the National Oil and Gas Authority, the Electricity and Water Authority, and the University of Bahrain, Bapco wants to improve the generation of clean energy using the sun – the major renewable energy resource in the Middle East.

Economists and energy experts say the project will contribute to the growth of renewable energy industries, create jobs in a new and promising field, and reduce dependence on natural gas as a major source for power generation.

The $25 million project installed solar energy units in three locations: in Awali, with a 1.6 megawatt capacity; the oil refinery plant, with a 3 megawatt capacity; and at the University of Bahrain, with a 0.5 megawatt capacity, announced Bapco’s general manager of engineering projects Abdul Jabbar Abdulkarim.

“The project succeeded in generating electricity through solar energy and smart grid applications that optimise the reliability and safety of the electricity distribution network,” said Abdulkarim.

“The University of Bahrain played a pivotal role in the success of this project by placing 2,000 solar panels at various university facilities, with each panel generating 200 watts of electricity, for a total of 400 kilowatts,” said University of Bahrain vice president for planning and development Waheeb al-Nasser.

The university’s large expanse of land – nearly 10,000 square metres – is ideal for launching other renewable energy projects, he added, such as harnessing wind energy by installing wind turbines on the university campus.

Solar and wind energy are readily available in the kingdom of Bahrain especially in June and July. If you are in the Middle East now you will understand the power of the sun.

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And would the possible lifting of sanctions against Iran depress oil prices enough — at least in the short term — to hurt the many Arab states that depend on petroleum exports for revenue?

These are among the key issues facing politicians, pundits and corporate bigwigs throughout the Middle East — and all were fodder for discussion during the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations’ 22nd Annual Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference.

An energy panel held on the first day of the Oct. 22-23 event brought together five experts: Dr. Herman Franssen, executive director of the Energy Intelligence Group; Sarah Ladislaw, co-director of the energy and national security program at Washington’s Center for Strategic & International Studies; Thomas Graham, executive chairman of the board of directors of Lightbridge Corp.; Shihab Kuran, president of Sun Edison Advanced Solutions, and Kevin Book, co-founder of ClearView Energy Partners LLC.

The panel was moderated by Randa Fahmy Hudome, general counsel for the American-Egyptian Strategic Alliance and former associate deputy secretary of energy.

“This month, we marked the 40th anniversary of the Arab oil embargo,” said Fahmy Hudome, a former U.S. associate deputy secretary of energy. “What has happened since then with U.S. energy policy vis-à-vis the Arab world? Not much, except for this past year. We are now witnessing the most profound changes in energy production and relationships since 1973 — not only in the U.S.-Arab relationship but across the world.”

Franssen certainly agrees with that assessment.

“In the United States, we have made enormous progress that would have been thought impossible 10 years ago. The technology that already existed was perfected, and prices of $100 a barrel made shale gas possible. Today, more than a fourth of our gas production is shale gas,” said the Dutch energy expert, a former adviser to Oman’s Ministry of Petroleum and Minerals. “We are now in a situation where the United States — instead of being a massive importer of liquid natural gas — will most likely be an exporter of LNG, perhaps even a very large one. We could even rival Qatar.”

For a “very long time to come,” said Franssen, the United States will be self-sufficient in gas, and will be able to produce it at relatively low prices compared to any of its rivals. That’s quite a switch from 40 years ago, when American consumers were literally at the mercy of the Arabs and the multinationals that did business with them.

“Prior to 1973, two-thirds of global oil reserves were in the hands of seven giant energy conglomerates known as the ‘seven sisters.’ The events that took place in 1973-74 led to a complete revolution,” said Frassen, referring to the Arab oil embargo sparked by U.S. support of Israel during the Yom Kippur War of October 1973.

OPEC called off the embargo in early 1974, but things were never the same again.

“By then, Middle East oil producers and other OPEC countries had nationalized their resources, so instead of two-thirds of all oil in the hands of the seven sisters, two- thirds were now controlled by national oil companies. That marked the emergence of OPEC as a real power.”

Yet whether the 12-member Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is still a “real power” four decades later is debatable.

As Amy Myers Jaffe and Ed Morse wrote in Foreign Policy, the 1970s witnessed “a profound and unprecedented transfer of wealth” to the Middle East that continues to have significant repercussions today — from democracy movements to terrorism and civil wars.

“The region’s leaders failed to set up long-term mechanism to distribute the benefits of that wealth transfer broadly to their populations and to establish an equitable stake in governance of resource proceeds that would have brought a newfound stability to the region,” said the article. “Instead, they bought lavishly, gilding their palaces and buying fleets of luxury autos. For decades, they squandered the opportunity to use oil wealth to modernize their societies and train their populations for future global economic competition. The result — unfolding not just in the Middle East but in other oil-producing countries as well — is a crisis of governance that is itself triggering a round of oil-supply disruptions.”

At the same time, growth in renewable energy has been remarkable. World biofuels production has doubled to more than 1.2 million barrels a day since 2006, while wind power has grown in oil-equivalent terms from one million b/d to two million since 2008. Solar power, meanwhile, jumped from 20,000 b/d of oil-equivalent energy in 2008 to 400,000 b/d last year, according to the article.

In addition, technological advances such as horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing — commonly known as “fracking” — have allowed the United States to boost production of shale oil and gas from places like North Dakota and Pennsylvania, while abundant U.S. natural gas is spawning new American-designed engine and modular fueling station technologies to readily use natural gas as a fuel in trucks, trains and ships, ending oil’s monopoly in transport.

So, is OPEC “over a barrel,” as a recent Bloomberg article put it?

Absolutely, writes the article’s author, Meghan O’Sullivan. Besides being largely unsuccessful, OPEC’s most powerful members these days are not interested in preventing huge spikes in world oil prices — nor do they have the ability to inflict similar shocks on the world as they once did.

“The 1973 crisis also launched widespread efforts in the West to find and develop ‘non-OPEC’ oil, to increase energy efficiency, and to bring alternative sources of energy online. OPEC has no self-interest in tanking the fragile economic recoveries of today with high oil prices — or in further catalyzing the already vigorous pursuit of non-oil energy sources,” she wrote.

And that subject is of major concern to the Arab world, which is why energy was the focus of the first panel at last month’s Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference.

Natural gas is flared from a unit at the Faregh gas complex deep in the Sahara Desert near Jalu, Libya.

“The world is moving to a low-carbon framework, complicating oil, gas and coal,” explained CSIS’s Ladislaw. “We are currently living through the spectrum of this unconventionals revolution. This has reordered the global landscape for new energy investments.”

One of the biggest questions, she said, is how governments around the world will respond to domestic economic difficulties as a result of such a massive shift in the global oil market. “A lot of countries are reassessing their own ability to insulate themselves and become more resilient to a wider array of potential energy futures,” Ladislaw said.

In 1973, OPEC exported two-thirds of its total oil production to Europe and North America. Today, two-thirds of its exports go to Asia — mainly China.

“But the very fact that 50 percent of the world’s oil is in the Middle East ¬— and that it’s the only region in the world with the ability to export most of what it produces — makes it the most important region for the oil industry. It will not be replaced in that role, no matter what we do in North America,” said Frassen.

“The Saudis and others remain the key element in the world of oil. What we are achieving now depends on a number of things,” he said. For one, oil must be priced at a minimum $80 a barrel for “unconventional” oil to be profitable. Secondly, the technology used by the United States must continue to be stable.

Book, a senior associate at CSIS and a member of the National Petroleum Council, spoke of a “possible pivot to Persia” — a reference to what might happen if Congress imposes ever-more stringent sanctions against Iran in an effort to force the regime in Tehran to give up its quest for nuclear weapons.

“We are looking at a very short-term discussion. From the crude risk perspective, this is big but it’s bidirectional: plus or minus one million barrels a day. That’s a big deal for the market,” he said.

Chinese oil workers repair a valve at a rig near Faregh, Libya, deep in the Sahara Desert. The rig is operated by China Oilfield Services Ltd. (COSL).

In the event Congress passes a measure that imposes economic sanctions against the remaining buyers of Iranian oil — China, South Korea, Japan and India — roughly one million barrels would be removed from the world market, pushing up prices to around $114 a barrel from the current $100. On the other hand, oil production in Iraq has skyrocketed by nearly 40 percent since the end of the Iraq War and could reach six million barrels a day by 2020, adding to a potential oil glut. And Iraq can produce oil at a far lower cost than unconventional oil anywhere in North America.

“We can benefit as a producer nation, but we stand to suffer far more than we benefit,” Book said. As a result, we are ill-positioned for all this loose talk about energy independence, in my view. Think about what the world will look like when you yank out 10 million barrels of production a day.”

Arab countries know their black gold will run out someday and have already begun looking for alternative energy supplies for their own rapidly growing populations. Two options being aggressively pursued are nuclear and solar power.

“In the past, there’s been virtually no use of peaceful nuclear power in the Middle East,” said Graham. “Egypt flirted with the idea, and Turkey twice asked for bids to build nuclear power plants, only to have the bidding process fail. Recently, Turkey went ahead and signed an agreement for Russia to build the plant with no money up front, and operate the reactor for 30 years. During that period, receipts from energy production will pay off the construction costs.”

More recently, Saudi Arabia has also indicated that it might build a few reactors, but the United Arab Emirates appears to be the most advanced country in the region when it comes to pursuing a nuclear future.

Yet efforts by the UAE to join the nuclear-power club were frustrated by a controversy that had erupted back in 2006. That year, Dubai Ports World bought British shipping giant P&O. As part of that sale, DP World was to assume the leases of P&O to manage major U.S. port facilities in New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Baltimore, New Orleans and Miami, as well as operations at 16 other ports.

However, once the transaction became public, many Democrats in Congress — along with a few powerful Republicans — questioned the deal on the grounds it could make the United States more vulnerable to terrorism. DP World eventually backed off from its plan, transferring operations to an unspecified American entity.

“It was a short-term political firestorm, and it left its mark,” said Graham. “This outcome was wrong and unfair, and was profoundly embarrassing to the UAE — to the point where even though the UAE believed that nuclear energy must be in its future, it proceeded very cautiously down that road, in the wake of Dubai Ports World controversy, knowing that eventually the program would end up being reviewed by Congress.”

As a senior diplomat, Graham — whose Lightbridge Corp. is based in McLean, Va. — helped negotiate every major arms control and non-proliferation agreement from 1970 to 1997 in which the United States was involved. In 2009, he was appointed to the International Advisory Board of the United Arab Emirates.

As such, the UAE established a regulatory agency, the Emirates Nuclear Energy Program, in 2009 and “staffed it with real experts,” he said. Soon after, it awarded a consortium led by Korea Electric Power Co. a $20 billion contract to build the first four nuclear power plants, with a commitment of having the first plant operating by 2017. This past May, construction began on a second plant, to be finished in 2018. If all goes according to plan, two more reactors will be built in 2014 and 2015, for completion in 2019 and 2020. All four will be located in Barakah, a desert site west of Abu Dhabi.

Despite the setbacks to the global nuclear industry which followed Japan’s 2011 Fukushima disaster — the world’s worst nuclear accident since the 1986 meltdown at Chernobyl — Graham insists the mammoth project will pose no threat whatsoever.

“The UAE is the first newcomer country for nuclear power generation in the last three decades,” he said. “It has persevered despite the shadow of Dubai Ports World. It is delivering its reactors on time and on budget. It is committee to the highest standards of safety, security and nonproliferation.”
Yet in the long term, a far cheaper and safer alternative may be solar energy.

Shihab Kuran is president of New Jersey-based Sun Edison Advanced Solutions. Last year, the company he founded, Petra Solar, installed solar panels on 20,000 rooftops throughout Jordan. He also launched the innovative Smart City project in Bahrain.

“Solar energy is one of the fastest-growing sectors in energy today, along with wind,” he said, noting that more than 700 solar sites have been interconnected to date. “The solar industry will receive over $1 trillion in the next seven to eight years, so it’s a massive growth area for us.”

One of solar’s biggest advantages over oil, gas, coal and nuclear energy is that the fuel itself — sunshine — is free.

“But the bulk of the investment is your upfront capital costs, so you have to ensure that you have a long-term view — modeling the megatrends in oil prices and geopolitical stability. With all these arguments for and against solar,” he said, “solar happens to be one of the biggest job generators on a per-megawatt basis.”

Kuran added: “When you look at oil production, the number of jobs are limited. And with nuclear, if you build a nuclear plan in a place like Jordan or Qatar, most likely you will have to import the technology. But with solar, you can build a factory in six to nine months. For a country like Jordan that imports 96 percent of its energy, it’s a straightforward case. You want to be energy-independent? Solar is the answer.”

Top image: Sikh foreman looks on as his workers repair a valve at the Faregh gas complex near Jalu, deep in the Sahara Desert.

All images by Larry Luxner, 2013.

The post Experts at US-Arab Policy Conference debate Mideast’s future as global energy supplier appeared first on Green Prophet.

VaVaVoom set up collection points for used lotions, potions and cosmetic cases at the Bahrain City Centre where customers can drop glass, metal and plastic containers.

During the campaign, different in-store and online marketing messages will explain the energy savings connected with recycled packaging. For example, recycling one perfume bottle saves enough energy to light a classroom for 10 hours; a lipstick tube defers up to 100 watts of power consumption; and the energy saved from a recycled mascara kit would be enough to juice your iPod for hours.

“We couldn’t have thought of a better initiative to reward our customers for the ten great years of business we’ve had in Bahrain. We’re thrilled to launch this campaign and even more excited to see the results such a green program will have in our community,” said Daniel Ritchie, VaVaVoom Vice President.

“Every VaVaVoom customer wants to look good. Now we want them to feel great too, by showing the positive effects that recycling can have on our daily lives in Bahrain,” Ritchie told TradeArabia, “Our ‘Look Good and Feel Great’ campaign lets people easily participate in a recycling initiative that contributes to a better environment.”

Participating customers will receive 10% off discount vouchers that can be redeemed in stores for a limited time. In fact, the campaign is also active for a limited time, ending on August 31. Maybe VaVaVoom will extend the program for the longterm as cosmetic biggies MAC, Lush, Kiehl’s and Aveda do. (Check the link here for details of their own recycling rewards programs).

Recycling is new to Bahrain.  A scheme to reduce domestic garbage and save energy was launched in selected areas of the Northern Governorate last year. Households were provided with color-coded rubbish bags for segregating different types of debris, which are collected by the Bahrain Recycling Plant, under an agreement with the Northern Municipality. The second phase of the project will involve setting up recycling bins in schools and markets across all areas.

“We are planning to encourage recycling and turn it from just a concept into a lifestyle,” said municipality director-general Yousif Al Ghatam, who is also National Cleaning Committee chairman.

Speaking to Gulf News, Al Ghatam said the initiative targets homes because they are the biggest waste producers, with an estimated 75% of that waste being potentially recyclable.

“Home waste in Bahrain reveal an alarming figure with 287,205 tons in 2007 increasing to 402,241 tons in 2009 – an increase of 29 per cent. People can imagine where that number must reach today by just adding another 20 per cent to the 2009 figure,” he explained. “The average solid waste per person is 1.5kg a day and that’s high compared to Oman, where it is 0.6kg to 0.9kg, and Germany where it is 1.1kg.”

VaVaVoom was first created in Kuwait in 2003. Now operating 26 stores across the Middle East, including Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Jordan, the company is well-positioned to spread it’s green message.

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Animals and animal rights are not top on any agenda in the Middle East, but in 2012, a number of incidents brought the controversial live export trade to the forefront of environmental and animal treatment in the region. First with Egypt, then with Bahrain and as a result, Pakistan. The deaths of tens of thousands of cows being transported from both Brazil and Australia to the region have once again put the controversial live export industry in the spotlight. 2012 was not a good year for animals in the region. Read on.

Earlier this year, some 30,000 cows died on a ship destined for Egypt after the Egyptian government refused to allow the ship to dock at a Red Sea port. They were slaughtered as a “precaution,” the ministry said.

Animals Australia, the leading organization reporting on the controversial live export trade to the Middle East and Southeast Asia, said the incident was among the worst the industry had witnessed in years.

Animals Australia’s Campaign Director, Lyn White, said in a statement that the ship was anchored at sea after being refused port in a number of countries in the region, including Egypt, where the cattle were supposed to be offloaded.

It’s understood that ventilation problems on the converted livestock vessel, the MV Gracia Del Mar, had caused the deaths of more than half of the animals on board since the ship left South America for Egypt a few weeks ago.

The ship was anchored in the Red Sea for weeks and saw more animals perish as a result.

“This is nothing short of an animal welfare disaster. If remaining cattle are not offloaded more of these animals will suffer appalling deaths at sea. We are appealing to authorities in Egypt to offload the remaining cattle at al-Sohkna, as was originally intended.

“This disaster is just another example of the inherent risks of transporting animals by sea. It was only nine years ago that 5,000 Australian sheep perished on board the MV Cormo Express after country after country refused to allow it to berth.

“And this isn’t the first time that mechanical issues have caused mass deaths on live export ships. We only need to look to the breakdown of the Al Messilah in Adelaide last year. Had that vessel broken down on the open ocean it would have caused a similar welfare catastrophe — as thousands of animals would have died.

“Australia also exports cattle to Al Sohkna Livestock company in Egypt. Whilst we have an MoU with Egypt which should ensure the offloading of our animals, it has never been put to the test. The Egyptians thus far have flatly refused to allow the MV Gracia Del Mar to dock despite the mass suffering of the animals on board.

“If they continue to refuse to allow the surviving animals to be unloaded it would provide little confidence that the non-binding agreement with Australia would be honoured if a similar incident were to occur on an Australian livestock ship.

“It should not matter if these cattle aren’t Australian and if Brazil doesn’t have a similar piece of paper, they should not be abandoned to suffer and die at sea. We are appealing to Egyptian authorities to offload these cattle as a matter of urgency.”

Bahrain helped to bring another tragedy to the forefront of international animal-related media after they refused to allow a ship carrying some 20,000 sheep to dock on its shores, forcing the vessel to Pakistan. The sheep fared even worse upon arrival in Pakistan.

Pakistan tried to bury sheep alive

Four Corners revealed that the sheep had survived the Pakistani government’s attempts to bury the animals alive.

“His fleece matted with blood and dirt — a reminder of the brutal mass slaughter he had lived through the night before,” Animals Australia said in a press release on the horror.

Animal abuse as “entertainment” in Gaza:

<iframe src=”https://embed.theguardian.com/embed/video/world/video/2013/dec/12/cattle-abuse-gaza-video” width=”660″ height=”390″ frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen=”allowfullscreen”></iframe>

“Perhaps more than any other live export disaster (and there have been many), the horrific sight of frightened animals being chased, beaten, stabbed, and then thrown mercilessly into trenches (many while still alive), shatters any belief that Australia can maintain control over the fate of live animals once exported from our shores,” added Animals Australia in a statement to its supporters.

The video expose is another shocking reminder of the horrific conditions animals are placed in as part of the live export industry, of which Australia is a leader.

But a positive for many animal rights activists is the decline in Australia’s live sheep exports over the past decade.

In 2010, three million sheep were exported compared with 6.3 million in 2001.

Australia’s government last year was to see a bill that would have banned live export to the world, but industry lobbyists fought back and forced the legislation off the table in a move that angered animal activists in the country and across the world, notably the Islamic world, which receives the lion’s share of live cattle and sheep from both Australia and Brazil.

READ related: animal abuse at meat slaughterhouse in Israel

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