IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON THE REGION

Fossil fuels may have brought great wealth to the Gulf but this had come with its own more intangible price tag – the cost of exposing the region to related pollution and some of the worst extremes of the climate crisis. According to Iran’s Meteorological Organisation, the country’s greenhouse gas emissions have increased by three per cent in the past decade while the average temperature has risen by 1.8°C since 1750, considerably higher than the global average of 1.1°C.

‘Many countries are directly exposed to the negative effects of heightened air pollution and water contamination,’ says Oxford Energy’s Shehabi. ‘They will also be exposed to the effects of climate change – such as rising median temperatures, lower precipitation, and sea level rise – which fossil fuelbased emissions are believed to accelerate.’ The fishery industry, historically important across the Gulf and North Africa, is particularly vulnerable.

‘Gulf countries are the among the most vulnerable to climate change notably due to the scarcity in water,’ says Jreissati. ‘With increasing population, temperature and heat wave intensity, water resources will take a heavy toll and more desalination plants will need to be built. Climate mitigation is not only a necessity in the Middle East to combat global climate change, it is also an amazing opportunity. It will bring economic, social and environmental benefits that are more than needed in our part of the world.’