Arab Climate Resilience Initiative
Third regional consultation meeting
Climate Change Impacts in the Arab Region:
Toward Sustainable Energy – Resources,
Challenges, and Opportunities
Adel Abdellatif
Chief, Regional Programme Division
Regional Bureau for Arab States
Manama, 06-07 October 2010
Climate Change: a concern and an opportunity
 Climate Change is a concern in the Arab countries

Arab Ministerial Declaration on Climate Change (2007) called for policy action
ranging from integration of policies to deal with climate change in all sectors,
adoption of national and regional climate change action plans, and carrying out
studies to better understand the threat and options to deal with it.
Declaration of Arab Summit, Libya, March 2010
“We emphasize the need to adopt effective policies in dealing with the issues of
climate change and preservation of the environment in all national and regional
fields of sustainable development, and to adopt a unified stance at the
negotiations over climate change in order to secure the rights of our peoples to
safeguard our national resources...We stress the importance of cooperation and
coordination in all fields of development, especially in the fields of Arab road
links, electricity links, use of sustainable energy, green-belt projects..…”

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Climate Change: a concern and an opportunity
 Climate Change is also an opportunity for Arab countries
Energy
efficiency to expand access;
Alternative
and renewable energy;
Diversified
economic growth;
Job
creation;
Opportunity
to improve policy coordination.
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The Arab Climate Resilience Initiative
Objectives:
Principles:
 Build knowledge and foster policy
Consultative and demand-driven;
dialogue;
In line with priorities as defined by
 Mobilize experts and policy leaders
Arab countries ;
to build momentum;
 Support strategic interventions to
Promote regional cooperation;
Identify not only challenges, but
promote climate resilient development
also opportunities.
in the Arab countries.
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The Regional Forum on CC in the Arab countries
Participants:
 Objectives:
Discuss and endorse the
regional initiative
Mobilize high level partners
 Dates: 3-5 November, 2010
 Venue: Rabat, Morocco
 Governments : Ministers,
Parliaments, Decision makers
 Corporation Agencies and
Donors
 Research and Academic
institutions
 Private sector
 NGOs
 Youth
 Media
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Content of Presentation
 Part I: Energy and Development
 Part II: Energy in the Arab Countries – A Global



Responsibility
Part III: Sustainable Energy: Challenges in the
Region
Part IV: Global Renewable Energy
Part V: Key Questions
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PART I: ENERGY AND
DEVELOPMENT
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Part I: Energy and Development
• Energy has been at the heart of critical economic, environmental and development
issues facing the world today–in developed and developing countries.
Sources: World Bank, World Development Indicators (Energy Use)
UNDP, Human Development Report Office (HDI)
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Energy consumption and wealth…the world at night
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On as the world population increases, and prosperity increases, demand
for energy will continue to grow.
Source: UN DESA. World Population Prospects, 2010.
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PART II: ENERGY AND THE
ARAB COUNTRIES: A GLOBAL
RESPONSIBILITY
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Part II: Energy in the Arab Countries:
A Global Responsibility
Source: Calculated from BP Statistical Review of World Energy, 2010.
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Part II: Energy in the Arab Countries:
A Global Responsibility
Source: Calculated from BP Statistical Review of World Energy,
2010.
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Part II: Energy in the Arab Countries:
A Substantial Source of Revenue
Source: IMF Country Reports, 2010.
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Part II: Energy in the Arab Countries:
Contributing to Human Development
Sources: World Bank, World Development Indicators (Energy Production).
UNDP, Human Development Report Office (HDI).
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Part II: Energy in the Arab Countries:
Volatility and Jobless Growth
Source: UNDP AHDR, 2009.
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PART III: SUSTAINABLE
ENERGY – CHALLENGES IN
THE REGION
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Part III: Energy Sustainability: Challenges in the region
A: Population increase and economic growth = growing demand
700
Total population, Arab Region
(millions)
598
600
500
400
359
300
200
128
100
0
1970
2010
2050
Source: UN DESA. World Population Prospects, 2009.
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Part III: Energy Sustainability: Challenges in the region
A: Population increase and economic growth = growing demand
Source: Tapping a Hidden Resource, Energy Efficiency in the Middle East and North Africa, World Bank 2009.
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Part III: Energy Sustainability: Challenges in the region
B: Energy Use is Highly Inefficient in the Arab Countries
Source: Tapping a Hidden Resource, Energy Efficiency in the Middle East and North Africa, World Bank 2009.
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Part III: Energy Sustainability: Challenges in the region
B: Energy Use is Highly Inefficient in the Arab Countries
Table: Arab Region is highly inefficient, Energy Intensity in the Arab Region versus the World Average, 2007
Country/Region
GDP, PPP (billions of current
international US $)
Energy use (kt of oil Energy intensity: Energy use per unit of GDP (kg of oil equivalent per PPP
equivalent)
US $)
Algeria
263.06
36863
0.140
Bahrain
24.98
8774
0.351
Comoros
0.73
..
…
Djibouti
1.74
..
…
Egypt
404.87
67246
0.166
Iraq
94.45
33086
0.350
Jordan
29.39
7201
0.245
Kuwait
128.79
25200
0.196
Lebanon
44.65
3993
0.089
Libya
96.40
17823
0.185
Mauritania
6.03
..
…
Morocco
127.16
14361
0.113
Oman
61.19
15479
0.253
Qatar
65.25
22187
0.340
Saudi Arabia
548.30
150326
0.274
Sudan
80.67
14675
0.182
Syria
87.94
19639
0.223
Tunisia
77.12
8837
0.115
United Arab Emirates
245.37
51636
0.210
Yemen
52.22
7212
0.138
Arab Region
2440.30
504538
0.207
World
67672.05
11664890
0.172
Source: UNDP-AHDR calculations based on data from World Bank, 2010
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Part III: Energy Sustainability: Challenges in the region
B: Energy Use is Highly Inefficient in the Arab Countries
Source: UNDP-AHDR calculations based on World Bank , 2010.
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Part III: Energy Sustainability: Challenges in the region
C: No strong tradition of investing in Research and Development
Source: Arab Knowledge Report, 2009.
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Part III: Energy Sustainability: Challenges in the region
D: Water Scarcity puts pressure on energy
Capacity of
Production of
desalination
desalination plants
plants (million
per day(million
Plant number cubic meters/day) cubic meters/day)
Source: UNDP, Human Development Report Office.
Saudi Arabia
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3.5
2.91
Kuwait
6
1.44
1.31
Bahrain
3
0.38
0.34
Qatar
2
0.49
0.43
UAE
8
2.61
2.23
Oman
2
0.28
0.19
Source: Al Rukaibi, Duaij (2010). Water resources in the
GCC. University of Texas at Austin.
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Part III: Energy Sustainability: Challenges in the region
E: Rising temperatures put pressure on energy
Source: Dr. Jeff Masters, Weather Underground. July 30, 2010.
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PART IV: GLOBAL
RENEWABLE ENERGY
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Part IV: Global Renewable Energy
Source: BP statistical review of world energy, 2010.
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Part IV: Global Renewable Energy
Source: BP statistical review of World Energy, 2010.
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PART V: KEY QUESTIONS
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Part V: Key Questions
 What are the overall challenges and opportunities associated with the
relationship between energy and climate change? (Opening)
 What are the features of the global and regional context that enable and or
present challenges to sustainable energy? (Panel 1)
 What can we learn from the innovative renewable energy initiatives
underway in the Arab countries, how can these be scaled-up, and what role
can they play in regional cooperation? (Panel 2)
 What economic and financial opportunities can be seized in the embrace of
sustainable energy? (Panel 3)
 What steps can be taken to promote a rapid advance of knowledge and
technology transfer for sustainable energy in the Arab countries? (Panel 4)
 What are the priorities for cooperative action, and how can we move forward
together to enhance sustainable energy throughout the region? (Panel 5)
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THANK YOU FOR YOUR
PARTICIPATION
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“The decisions we take today on
how we produce, consume and
distribute energy will profoundly
influence our ability to eradicate
poverty and respond effectively
to climate change.” UN SG
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