Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is slated to be disproportionately affected by climate change. Climate change poses multi-faceted levels of risk for MENA governments, including environmental and biological, socioeconomic, and political risks. This project will provide a regional lens to examine the programs and approaches that several MENA governments are undertaking to address climate change and examine civil society activism and the role nongovernmental organizations play in engaging governments on climate change related issues. This work is primarily funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency. For inquiries about this project, contact middleeast@ceip.org.
Addressing water scarcity and improving water management will be immensely important for ensuring the region’s stability, sustainability, and well-being in the face of a changing climate.
The challenges, weaknesses, threats, and opportunities MENA countries face in achieving climate resilience and sustainable development goals.
Much of Egypt’s population is already suffering from the effects of climate change, and many more are at risk. If the country continues the mitigations it has started, it can still help to protect them.
Climate change in the Middle East will amplify preexisting vulnerabilities stemming from conflict, displacement, marginalization, and corruption, while also creating new risks. Governments in the region will need to adopt more inclusive reforms as part of their climate adaptation strategies.
Libya’s acute vulnerabilities to climate change have been exacerbated by years of conflict, corruption, infrastructural decay, and environmental deterioration.
As countries gather in Egypt, a major theme will be whether the developed world will assist poorer countries in climate adaptation.
Climate change is affecting the Middle East in far-reaching ways. To better prepare their societies to withstand its shocks, policymakers need to depart from top-down paradigms and involve a broader swath of their citizenry in climate adaptation.
Listen to experts discuss climate risks in the MENA region and how governments and stakeholders are responding to policy challenges. (in English and Arabic)
Welcome to Daragten We Bas / Two Degrees Are Enough, a podcast produced by the Middle East Program of Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. In this Arabic language podcast, host Amr Hamzawy joins scholars and researchers in examining the impacts of climate change on societies and governments in the Middle East and North Africa and in navigating risk reduction paths.