More and more studies highlight the truly drastic action we need to take at Doha to avoid four degree warming – but is it too late?

According to a new report, heat waves in the Middle East with temperatures consistently above 40 degrees could seem like ‘a pleasant prospect in a few decades’ if we don’t take drastic action to stop climate change. The report by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and German NGO Climate Analytics for the World Bank has been released in the lead up to COP18 and is designed to shock us into action. It states that even if the current carbon pledges were met, “there is roughly a 20 percent likelihood of exceeding 4°C by 2100, and a 10 percent chance of 4°C being exceeded as early as the 2070.” An increase of 6°C or more in average summer months was predicted for the Middle East by the report.

Many scientists now predict that a two-degree rise by the end of the century will happen – with catastrophic results such as increased water scarcity, flooding, coastal erosion and the loss of 30 percent of animal and plant species. The only thing really up for debate is whether or when we will hit 4-degree warming. A four-degree temperature rise by the end of the century could create not only a new class of heat waves but may trigger declining global food stocks and sea-level rises affecting hundreds of millions of people. Indeed the UN climate talks in Doha have reportedly considered adding focus to “loss and damage” which indicates a growing realisation that we will not be able to avoid serious warming.

Jim Yong Kim, president of the World Bank wrote in the foreword of the report: “A 4°C world is likely to be one in which communities, cities and countries would experience severe disruptions, damage, and dislocation, with many of these risks spread unequally. It is likely that the poor will suffer most and the global community could become more fractured, and unequal than today.”

“The world must tackle the problem of climate change more aggressively,” Kim added. “Greater adaptation and mitigation efforts are essential and solutions exist. We need a global response equal to the scale of the climate problem, a response that puts us on a new path of climate smart development and shared prosperity. But time is very short.”

The recently released UNEP Emissions Gap Report echoed many of these findings. It revealed a growing gap between the emissions reductions needed to avoid irreversible impacts of climate change and the world’s projected emissions reductions. Greenhouse gas emissions levels are now around 14 per cent above where they need to be in 2020. Instead of declining, concentration of warming gases like carbon dioxide (C02) are actually increasing in the atmosphere—up around 20 per cent since 2000. It suggests that the warming could be prevented with strong leadership focused on enacting aggressive policies and investments towards efficiency and sustainability.

“Governments meeting in Doha for COP18 now need to urgently implement existing decisions which will allow for a swifter transition towards a low-carbon and resilient world,” explained Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. “This notably means amending the Kyoto Protocol, developing a clear vision of how greenhouse gases can be curbed globally before and after 2020, and completing the institutions required to help developing countries green their economies and adapt, along with defining how the long-term climate finance that developing countries need can be mobilized. ”

For more on the COP18 see: 
COP18 Updates: Students, Women and A President Courting Oil Executives
Egypt’s Position for COP18 Explained
Will The Kyoto Protocol Survive Qatar 2012?
Message to Qatar From Arab Youth – ‘Take the Lead on Climate Change!’
Lifesaving Sahara Forest Project to Start with COP18 in Qatar
Can Qatar Balance Its Interests and Host a Successful Climate Summit?

: IRIN
:: Image of heatwave via Shutterstock.com

The post COP18 and Four Degrees: Have We Passed The Point Of No Return? appeared first on Green Prophet.

Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah, who is the president of the COP18 got a thorough telling off for courting big oil executives in the lead up to the climate talks

The annual UN climate talks are coming the Middle East for the first time ever. As such, climate change and environmental issues are hitting the local headlines much more than usual and a tangible sense of excitement and anticipation is building in the region. To guide you through this tangled two-week conference and help you cut through the spin, we will be providing weekly COP18 updates. We’ve already published an article exploring the major issue which will be discussed at the talks – the Kyoto Protocol – and Does Vandousselaere has published a great guide to Egypt’s COP18 position. More after the jump!

COP18 President (Still) Courting Oil Executives
Days before the UN Climate Conference is due start (26 November to December 7, 2012), Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah who is its president, spoke at an ‘Oil and Money’ event in London and presented the petroleum executive of the year award – an award he himself had received in 2007. Avaaz, the campaigning organisation, was understandably not very pleased. They wrote:

“As the official conference president, Attiyah should be working tirelessly behind the scenes to shore up a successful outcome of the negotiations, not presenting awards to the top brass of the oil industry. One of the key jobs of a conference president is to act as a neutral broker, someone who can help countries work together towards a climate saving deal. Attiyah’s industry experience makes him uniquely positioned to find common ground at the upcoming talks, but his decision to speak at this week’s Oil & Money conference puts his reputation – and the climate talks – at risk. He needs to change course before it’s too late.”

Arab Women’s Role in Energy and Climate Change Highlighted
Last week, an event exploring the topic “Arab women leading the way in energy and climate change” was jointly hosted by the Directorate of Energy and Climate Change at the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the ‘Mary Robinson Foundation – Climate Justice’ and Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy company. Mary Robinson said: “Women’s contributions – political, economic, social and environmental – are central to tackling the global challenges we face today. Women can play an important role in bringing about positive societal transformations.”

“COP 18 provides an important opportunity for the region to show leadership on climate change. There is renewed hope that next month in Qatar, countries can agree to act together to take positive action on climate change and embrace a new model of development, which reduces greenhouse gas emissions, builds resilience to climate change and delivers sustainable development for all,” Robinson added.

Qatari Students Get Climate Change Training
The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) has announced it will train a team of eight top Qatari students to cover the upcoming climate change talks in Doha. IISD’s Earth Negotiations Bulletin is the world’s leading publication on international environment and sustainable development negotiations. According to a press release, the training will begin just prior to COP18 and give the students an opportunity to shadow IISD’s report writers at a live conference and gain hands-on writing experience.

The students will then receive a certificate on completion of the assignment, which will involve publishing a daily English language report during the conference. “Working with young people to further the goals for sustainable development is one of the most important investments we can make,” said IISD chair Dan Gagnier. “I am confident that we not only provide an opportunity for young people to make a contribution to sustainable development but that in this exchange we can learn from their willingness to question our terms of reference.”

For more on the COP18 see:
Egypt’s Position for COP18 Explained
Will The Kyoto Protocol Survive Qatar 2012?
Message to Qatar From Arab Youth – ‘Take the Lead on Climate Change!’
Lifesaving Sahara Forest Project to Start with COP18 in Qatar
Can Qatar Balance Its Interests and Host a Successful Climate Summit?

Image of Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah via Omar Torres / AFP.

The post COP18 Updates – Women, Students & A President Courting Oil appeared first on Green Prophet.

This month’s United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP18) will be hosted by Qatar, the tiny peninsula nation in the Persian Gulf that holds the world record for per capita CO2 emissions.

According to a report entitled Indicators of Sustainable Development 2011 released by Qatar’s statistics’ authority, the state has experienced a 27% annual increase in ozone-depleting substances, 9.3% increase in nitrogen oxides (NO_x), and 3.6% increase in carbon dioxide (CO2). Qatar has held the emissions world record for two decades. To understand the scale of these figures, consider that Qatar doubles the next highest per-capita emitting country, Kuwait, and trebles the United States.

In Doha, particulate air pollution is also increasing from 128.7 micrograms per square meter (μg/m²) in 2007 to 155.7 μg/m² three years later. Cars are the likely culprit behind the damning data: in the last decade, the number of registered vehicles in country doubled from approximately 280,000 cars to 660, 000 (as per 2010 records).

Qatar possesses the third largest natural gas reserve worldwide after Russia and Iran.  Stratospheric emissions are likely due to high energy consumption by natural gas processing, water desalination, and electricity production to support ubiquitous air conditioning.

Creating habitable conditions for large urban populations in such an inhospitable natural environment comes with a big price tag.  Qataris do not pay for water or electricity supplies, which further encourages a high rate of use.  They’re also one of the highest consumers of water, consuming about 400 liters per capita per day.

Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah, director of the authority in charge of administrative control and transparency in Qatar and president of COP 18, has said that hosting the UN conference in Qatar is an occasion for Qatar to show its progress in protecting the environment, according to a report on ANSAMed.

According to Doha daily Gulf Times, over 17,000 people from 195 country will travel to Doha for the event, which will be an opportunity for the Emirate to publicize its long-term strategy.

Forward-thinking Qatar, with its vast financial resources, is in a unique position to capitalize on the green economic revolution. Let’s watch to see if this nation often tagged as the richest, fattest, and most polluting place on earth can also emerge as the fastest to convert to the cleanest and leanest on planetary resources.

Image of Doha skyline by Shutterstock

The post Over Polluted Qatar Hosts UN Climate Conference appeared first on Green Prophet.

The UNFCCC Conference of the Parties (COP 18) conference will take place between November 26 and December 7th 2012 in Doha, Qatar. The Kyoto agreement is facing even more challenges than it did during the 2011 climate conference in Durban. But there is some hope that the Qatar climate conference will spark off the second phase of the Kyoto protocol agreement even as Kyoto’s 2012 deadline approaches.

A Brief History of the Kyoto Agreement

The Kyoto protocol agreement was first signed on December 11, 1997.  One hundred and ninety one countries went on to ratify the agreement and committed themselves to various greenhouse gas emission targets. The targets were to be measured in comparison to a baseline year, usually 1990, and varied according to circumstances of individual countries including industrial development and wealth. So-called Annex I countries committed to a target which would be measured at the end of 2012 in preparation for the next phase of the agreement. As this deadline approaches, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has made a pre-release version of CO2 Emissions from Fuel Combustion 2012 – Highlights available. This annual publication contains estimates of CO2 emissions by country, region and sector from 1971 to 2010.

Now for the Complicated Part

Anthropogenic greenhouse warming is controversial, but at least this debate breaks down to a simple yes or no answer. The question of whether a nation is making progress towards its Kyoto protocol greenhouse gas (GHG) emission target is somewhat more complicated. Some countries such as the United Kingdom were committed to GHG reductions from a baseline year (typically 1990.) Others committed to a reduction in the increase of greenhouse gasses from a baseline year. Other countries (e.g. China) were not required to commit to a greenhouse gas emission target at all over this first measurement period.

To complicate matters further, the Clinton administration signed the agreement after the US senate had unanimously voted for the Byrd-Hagel resolution which rendered this signature meaningless.  This resolution said that the Senate would not support any climate ratification that excluded the developing world or that could harm the US economy.  President George W. Bush clarified this position with a terse withdrawal from the Kyoto protocol in the spring of 2001.

CO2 Emissions per capita show a drop in the high baseline of North America. Per capita carbon dioxide emission in the Middle East and Asia/Oceania has surpassed the global average as well as the European average.

Others Threaten to Drop out of the Game

Canada, Russia and Japan announced their intention to withdraw from the Kyoto agreement. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev explained that Russia had received no benefit from the Kyoto protocol.  And Japan, the birthplace of the Kyoto agreement, has had to adjust its priorities as 48 of its 50 nuclear reactors were shut down after the March 2011 tsunami and Fukushima meltdown. Even New Zealand, a progressive country with enormous potential for geothermal and hydro-power, is considering dropping the Kyoto agreement as the carbon credits it had hoped to benefit from have been devalued by the Kyoto exodus.

The Silver Lining Behind Kyoto’s Cloudy History

While the best hopes of the Kyoto agreement seem to be fading, there is a silver lining behind the cloud that hangs over this historic agreement. The European Union met its reduction target and went on to reduce its carbon emissions by an additional 8.8%.  After carbon trading adjustments by Spain, Luxemburg, Italy and seven other EU nations, only Italy is expected to fall short of its target. Germany, Denmark, Sweden and the UK performed especially well proving that GHG reduction is possible and that it is compatible with the strongest economies in Europe. It must have come as a terrible embarrassment that after years of political wrangling, excuses and gnashing of teeth over the Kyoto agreement that the US came nearer to its unratified Kyoto target than some signatories.

The Qatar Climate Conference: The End or a Turning Point?

The Qatar conference comes at a critical time in the Kyoto agreement. EU members have proven that GHG reduction and prosperity can go together. The 700% rise in oil prices since 1997 means GHG is no longer the only compelling reason for weaning ourselves from fossil fuels. Technology and climate science have come a long way since 1997. China developed  rapidly since 1997 and its GHG emissions rose as much as 10% annually during parts of the last decade.

China now leads the world in carbon emissions so its carbon footprint can no longer be written off as inconsequential. The United States has seen that without its participation and leadership, Kyoto did not follow the same highly successful trajectory as the Montreal protocol on CFC emissions did.

The Qatar climate conference could very well mark the end of the Kyoto protocol.  It could be the beginning of Kyoto 2.0. But it could also be the beginning of something so innovative and progressive that it deserves a new name. How many nations will fully participate in the Doha Qatar Protocol?

Graphs by Brian Nitz for Green Prophet using data from the International Energy Agency (IEA) pre-release version of CO2 Emissions from Fuel Combustion 2012 – Highlights

The post Will the Kyoto Protocol Survive Qatar 2012? appeared first on Green Prophet.

I speak to Qatar-based environmental researcher Mari Luomi about the balancing act Qatar has to perform at the upcoming climate summit

You could say that Mari Luomi’s environmental education began at a very early stage. Wandering through the forests and lakes of Finland when young, she explains that she learnt very quickly that human societies formed a part of the Earth’s ecosystems- and not vice versa. This love and interest in nature later developed into a fully-fledged career and she is now a Post-Doctoral Fellow looking at the environmental issues facing Gulf nations at the Center for International and Regional Studies of Georgetown University in Qatar. In the run of the climate summit in Qatar later this year, I caught up with her to talk politics, the challenge of behaviour change and what an OPEC nation with the world’s largest per capita carbon footprint has to offer the international community in terms of dealing with climate change.

Despite what you may have been told, when it comes to environmental issues, the Gulf nations are not a homogeneous mass. There are those who are trying to push forward and diversify their economies towards low-carbon and there are those that are, well, not. Luomi explains that the Gulf monarchies are not only worried about their continuing dependency on fossil fuel exports, but their domestic consumption of energy and water too, which has grown so fast in the past decade that it is now significantly eating away from valuable export revenues and turning most into net importers of natural gas. However, rather than aiming to reduce demand and encourage conservation they are still mostly trying to increase supply of energy and water. They want more rather than focusing on using less and this is hugely problematic.

According to the latest statistics Qatar, where you are currently based, has the largest ecological footprint of the region (and world!). Do you think the government, businesses and civil society are doing enough to change that?

The interesting thing about this indicator is that it factors out the consumption and emissions of a country’s exports while including those of imports. So in Qatar’s footprint, we only have the impact of what is actually consumed here. All emissions of the massive gas and oil export industry are excluded. Shockingly, despite the fact that 57% of Qatar’s population in 2008 (for which the figures are) consisted of low-wage migrant labourers, the average resident still consumed 6.5 times the Earth’s carrying capacity.

Qatar is hot and arid, and has a high per capita income, but these alone do not explain the overshoot. A lot, unfortunately, boils down to lack of awareness and indifference. Few people here seem to be aware the environmental consequences of their actions. This applies to all segments of the population, including most Western expatriates, albeit for different reasons. In 2008, the government launched a document that outlines the country’s objectives for the next two decades and the environment was one of the four main areas of focus. A short-term planning document that followed proposes a number of pertinent measures both on the supply and demand side.

Still, missing are strong incentives for businesses and individuals to change behaviour and practices that are environmentally unsustainable. High subsidies and lack of enforcement remain two major obstacles on the road to sustainability. A lot of blatant greenwash by companies also goes on unimpeded due to the weak CSR culture and generally low awareness of environmental issues.

With Qatar hosting climate talks in November/December, do you think this will change anything long-term in terms of environmental action in the region? And why was Qatar eager to host the climate summit?

Ironically, while most countries are currently struggling with economic crises, Qatar is one of the few countries where the economy and natural resource consumption have kept growing, largely thanks to natural gas. The dire global economic situation has become a major impediment to increased global ambition to fight climate change. In Qatar, this is not an issue, but here too, economic considerations still continue to override environmental ones. Also, emissions are a sensitive issue to the OPEC exporters on so many levels. Qatar, like other Middle Eastern states, is still classified as a developing country, which means that it currently has few obligations vis-à-vis the international climate regime.

Hosting major international events is part of Qatar’s foreign policy. It is also aimed at creating a brand and diversifying the economy. Having the UN climate conference in Doha this year also follows a trend of Qatar ‘punching above its perceived weight’ in foreign relations. And yet again, we’re facing a risky bet. If Qatar manages the double task of brokering a successful conference outcome and balancing its interests as an OPEC member with those of a dynamic, forward-thinking state seeking to live beyond oil and natural gas, then we might see positive reverberations both domestically and regionally. The very optimistic scenario is that the conference will give rise to a new regional leader in climate change mitigation and open the floor for a frank discussion on domestic environmental problems.

Your book ‘The Gulf Monarchies and Climate Change: Abu Dhabi and Qatar in an Era of Natural Unsustainability‘ will be published later this year to coincide with the UNFCCC meeting in Qatar. What were the major findings of the book?

In late 2007 I became fascinated with two seemingly contradictory events in the region: Saudi Arabia, along with three other Gulf OPEC states, known for their controversial role in the international climate negotiations, announced the creation of a US$750 million fund for Research & Development into clean-tech. At the same time, Abu Dhabi was gearing to start construction at Masdar City and announce a civilian nuclear energy programme.

The original question that inspired me was the one we’ve heard a thousand times since: why would an oil exporting state invest in alternative energy? My next questions were: what is driving these developments? Are there regional differences? And what does this possible shift in attitude entail for international climate politics? Answering these questions led me to more questions, including why, despite so much havoc to the sensitive desert environment caused by the last decade’s explosive growth, does the environment continue to be a marginal issue in most of the Gulf monarchies?

In the book, I explore these questions and try to answer them. I examine the two most dynamic monarchies to have taken at least some steps towards lower-carbon economies: Abu Dhabi and Qatar. Fundamentally, however, the book sends a strong message about the difficulties of trying to sustain the environment in fast-growing societies that are still so pervasively impacted by fossil fuels.

What change is needed to help the Gulf nations in particular take environmental issues and climate change more seriously?

No doubt it’s the people that need to change, eventually, if we are to save this region. Values need to change. Governments have a crucial role in initiating the change by making large structural improvements with the help of technologies and efficiency; passing laws and enforcing them; initiating awareness-raising campaigns; steering consumption through pricing, and so on. Wealth accumulation and material consumption should not be our primary goals in life. I have an idea of what should be done to change this, and it involves actions on the very top and among young nationals. I’m just afraid that I am still in a trivial minority with my thoughts and that change in many countries is coming too slow.

For more on the UNFCC meetings and the Middle East see:
Qatar (Still) Had the World’s Largest Carbon Footprint
Interview: Green Buildings and Next Climate Summit in Qatar
Despite Best Intentions, Gulf Countries Can’t Quit CO2
#Occupy Climate Change: The Arab Spring and Occupy Wall St.

Image of celebrations in Qatar from Shutterstock

The post Can Qatar Balance its Oil Interests and Host a Successful Climate Summit? appeared first on Green Prophet.

Saudi Minister Denies Land Bridge to Egypt Plans
Following a rather mixed reaction to the news that plans were afoot to build a bridge connecting Egypt and Saudi via the Red Sea, the Saudi Minister of Transport has denied any agreement between the countries. Speaking to the Arab News, the minister said, “There is no any such agreement to the effect between the ministry and any other party concerning the project.”

Whilst the project’s future now appears in limbo, it has been estimated that if the bridge was built it would bring in 1.2 million Saudi tourists (and their cars) every year. The present number of visitors is currently 300,000. For a thorough look at the environmental concerns surrounding the land and sea bridge proposal see this blogpost by Egyptian blogger Zeinobia.
:: Arab News

Protests Against Nuclear Power in Turkey
As part of a wider Greenpeace campaign, protestors gathered outside the Hagia Sofia Museum in Istanbul to highlight the dangers of nuclear. The protest marks the lead up to the first anniversary of the Fukushima disaster in Japan which will take on March 11. According to campaigners, the day of action is also to remind us of the fact that the world’s more than 400 nuclear reactors pose an ongoing threat to the hundreds of millions of people who live in their shadow.
: Image and information via Greenpeace Arabic.

Muslim Nations Meet To Talk Water
Members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) met in Istanbul on Monday 5 March to “develop a common vision regarding water”. The conference which included 62 OIC member countries, approved a final statement which recommended more nations co-operate in water research and co-ordinate their water-related organizations and campaigns. Countries in attendance include Kuwait, Egypt, Qatar, Syria, Libya, Oman and Turkey. No doubt the conference was important, although it seems the power of OIC as well as the action actually taken by the group is limited.
:: Arab News

The Road to Doha
In the lead up to the climate summit in Doha, Qatar, there is a distinct effort to get the region up to scratch on climate change issues. And Carboun, the sustainability consultancy, is playing its part. It recently published a ‘everything you need to know about climate change’ article by William Yassine which not only very readable but has lots of diagrams and infographics to help you get your head around the climate science and politics. Carboun is also promising more MENA-focused climate change guides in the future.
:: Read the ‘Road to Doha: An Introduction to Climate Change’ here.

For more green news nuggets see:
Saudi Arabia’s Climate U-Turn?

Saudi Arabia, Corals, Aviation and Basil- Green News Snippets

Saturday’s Green News Snippets – February 25 2012

The post Saudi’s Bridge Plans and Nuclear Protest in Turkey- News Snippets appeared first on Green Prophet.

We speak to Karim Elgendy, founder of the Middle East sustainability initiative ‘Carboun’ about what motivates his work and why green ratings for buildings aren’t a silver bullet

Last month, Carboun an advocacy initiative promoting sustainability in the Middle East celebrated its second anniversary. Headed by Karim Elgendy they have certainly come a long way in very short space of time. Since its launch Carboun has moved from producing some great infographics highlighting environmental issues in the Middle East, to playing an active role in green projects in the region. As well as a growing team of representatives, they are hosting an event at the UN Conference of Parties (COP 18) at Doha in December and have also launched 24/7 Electricity, a research project that looks into energy generation challenges in Lebanon. I caught up with Karim to find out more about Carboun, the major challenges ahead and what sustainable design can do for the region.

Aburawa: I understand you work as an architect and a sustainability consultant – why is sustainability important to you?

Elgendy: The architect’s role is to ensure a balance between human comfort and enjoyment on one hand, and the efficient use of resources on the other. This balance is at the core of the global sustainability discourse, with much of the current efforts focused on finding ways to reduce anthropogenic impacts on the environment, while maintaining the current economic development levels and the improvements in quality of life they have brought. In the developing world, including the Middle East, sustainability is all about establishing functioning economic models with this balance built in.

Aburawa: What motivated you to setup the Carboun initiative?

Elgendy: Carboun was founded to promote sustainability in the Middle East. I was motivated by a fundamental belief in the global need to transition to a more sustainable development model for our cities. I was also motivated by a desire to reverse the adverse impacts that the Middle East’s prevalent development models have had on its economic development.

Additionally, Carboun’s knowledge emphasis was born out of a concern I had regarding the scarcity of basic information about the region, especially where it relates to the built environment. This particular concern helped shape Carboun’s mission to include creating a body of regional knowledge that others can build on – ultimately helping to establish a knowledge foundation for sustainable development in the region.

Aburawa: What common misconceptions are there about green buildings and green architecture?

Elgendy: The term ‘green buildings’ itself is rather problematic since there is no clear definition of what this means. As a result, the most common misconception is stakeholders’ partial understanding of how to reduce the impact of a given building on the environment. As a result of this incomplete understanding, buildings branded as ‘green’ have very different sustainability emphasis even when in close geographical proximity.

This leads to the second common misconception about green buildings. In the absence of a clear definition of a sustainable design, many have resorted to equating it with certification using one of the common rating systems such as LEED, BREEAM, or Estidama’s Pearls.

While rating systems are useful since they help us benchmark building performance, they also differ greatly in their emphasis and are themselves in a continuous state of development. A building certified under LEED in 2007 for example has a much lower level of “greenness” than one certified in 2011. In addition, this equation between the two led to a check-list design culture that often stifles innovation.

Aburawa: How does sustainable architecture help countries deal with other environmental issues such as energy use and water?

Elgendy: Buildings – both commercial and residential – are responsible for a substantial portion of any given country’s energy use. And while the size of this portion varies by region, reducing energy use in buildings has the potential to substantially reduce carbon emissions of that country.

Ensuring that new buildings do not compound our energy and water challenges is a mandatory first step. This must be followed by much larger efforts to reduce energy use in existing building stock. Sustainable architecture can also play a positive role in reducing water use, encouraging the use of public transportation, reducing the impact of a development on global resources by considerate use of materials and on local ecosystems by careful planning.

Aburawa: What green project has inspired you architecturally and why?

Elgendy: I am generally most inspired by projects where innovative design solutions, rather than technology, have been employed to make buildings more sustainable. One of my favorite buildings is the Tjibaou Cultural Center in the south Pacific islands of New Caledonia

Aburawa: Clearly, water shortages and water scarcity are big issues in the Middle East so what can those looking at green buildings do to help preserve this precious resource?

Elgendy: Water scarcity is a major challenge in the Middle East that sustainable design professionals in the region are beginning to address. However, the significance of buildings in the overall water picture varies across the region. In Egypt and Iraq for example, fourth fifths of water is diverted towards agriculture with only 6% and 3% respectively going to domestic use in buildings. Conserving water here is better done through improving the predominant inefficient agricultural methods.

In the Gulf sub-region on the other hand, domestic share of water use is around 25% of total use, and much of the water comes from non-renewable and energy-intensive desalination processes. Reducing water water in this sub-region’s buildings can help bring energy, environmental, and economic benefits.

Aburawa: In the past, you have criticized some green buildings in the Middle East for using “high-tech aesthetic developed by European architects” such as glazing which is unsuitable for the region. Has the region been able to move beyond this and work around its own environment and develop its own strengths and aesthetic?

Elgendy: The practice of sustainable design in the Middle East has indeed moved beyond this. In fact the turn around started happening a few years ago, and I am beginning to see a variety of balanced design approaches in new projects around the region.

Aburawa: What is the most challenging aspect of bringing together sustainability and architecture?

Elgendy: One of the main challenges in bringing sustainability and architecture together is the fundamental contradiction between the process of creating new buildings – an energy and resource intensive process with an ecological footprint beyonds its site boundary – and conserving natural resources and the environment. Because of this contradiction, some go as far as suggesting that the most sustainable building is a building that already exists. However, given that population growth and economic development are creating a continuous demand for new buildings, the challenge here is accepting the need for development but trying to reduce its ecological footprint.

:: Carboun

Image supplied by Karim Elgendy

For more on Carboun’s work see:

The Middle East’s Carbon Emissions At A Glance (Infographic)

Water and the Middle East At A Glance (Infographic)

CO2 Emissions In MENA to Double In 30 Years

The post Sustainable Architecture In The Middle East – Interview with Karim Elgendy appeared first on Green Prophet.

Once the region’s climate skeptic, Saudi Arabia is slowly shifting towards a more progressive stance ahead of the climate summit in Qatar

It’s not long now till the climate summit follow up to Durban, is held in Qatar later this year. And in response to the eyes that will be soon focusing on the Middle East, it appears that climate skeptics are being pushed away to the sidelines – if temporarily. In Saudi Arabia, the notoriously climate skeptic Mohammed Al-Sabban has been replaced by the well-respected Khalid Abuleif as the leading voice at the climate negotiations for the country. Kelly Rigg at HuffPost argues that this and a recent speech by the oil minister shows that Saudi may finally be prepared to play “a more progressive and less obstructionist role in the negotiations.”

At the Bonn climate talks, Saudi Arabia hit the headlines for trying to delay the progress by insisting that an agreement wasn’t necessary for another 18 months. For this and their demand to receive compensation for the loss of oil revenue in a post-oil future, Saudi Arabia was awarded the ‘Fossil of the Day’ by the Climate Action Network, an alliance of various green NGO’s. At Durban, Saudi was equally dubious about the talks and feared being singled out as an environmental culprit. The oil-rich country also sees a climate deal as a greater threat than competition from oil rivals.

Saudi’s (now replaced) lead climate negotiator Mohammed Al-Sabban also told BBC News in 2009 that, “Climate is changing for thousands of years, but for natural and not human-induced reasons. So, whatever the international community does to reduce greenhouse gas emissions will have no effect on the climate’s natural variability.”

However, in a speech delivered in late January the Saudi Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources said: “Greenhouse gas emissions and global warming are among humanity’s most pressing concerns. Societal expectations on climate change are real, and our industry is expected to take a leadership role. We are doing this in Saudi Arabia.”

The shift in rhetoric is quite something. Indeed, Rigg spoke to Wael Hmaidan of IndyACT who said that having the conference in the Arabian Gulf could well inspire change. “In practice this will mean higher-level involvement of decision makers, ruling families, civil society, and other stakeholders,” he said. “This could lead to more awareness of the importance of climate change, and thus a more progressive regional position in the negotiations.”

This change should, however, be taken with a pinch of salt. At this stage it’s hard to tell whether these changes signal a real shift in views or whether this is just window dressing in time for the Qatar summit. Even so, as Rigg remarks “When even the world’s leading oil supplier says it’s time to deal with climate change, it’s a strong sign that the decade-long climate denial campaign has failed.”

Huff Post Green

: Image via Bakar_88/flickr.

For more on Saudi and climate talks see:

Could Saudi Arabia become the Saudi Arabia of Solar?

Guide to Durban Talks and the Oil-Rich Middle East

Bonn: The Latest Climate Talks and the Middle East

The post Saudi Arabia’s Climate U-Turn? appeared first on Green Prophet.