Environmental Policy

In the Horn and East African region, there are many conflicts over natural resources at community and even national levels. The bigger part arises from deficient water supply and pasture for livestock.

In the Horn and East African region many conflicts arise over natural resources at community and even national level. Only a policy and legal framework could ensure protection of all the citizens' rights.

Renard Sexton is an International Expert on Resources and International Development. In this interview he explains the intimate and complex relationship of natural resources and conflict in Afghanistan.

The European Union has long proclaimed itself a leader of global climate ambition and a champion of the low carbon economy. Due to the influence of powerful interest groups, Europe might roll back its commitment to combating climate change.

As old methods have lost credibility, some governments, economists and international institutions like the UN Environment Programme have adopted a new approach, based on the view that nature is an “ecosystem service” provider. In doing so, they have shifted the onus of addressing environmental risk onto the private sector and market-based mechanisms.

Expansion of the Russian coal industry will increase greenhouse gas emissions, leading to a faster climate change. One reason behind this expansion is the growing demand for Russian coal from Europe’s energy giants, such as E.On and RWE. This is revealed in a new report on the Russian coal industry released today in Bonn, Germany.

Cécile Maisonneuve is Director of the Center for Energy of the Institut Français des Relations Internationales. Paul Hockenos talked with her about the German Energiewende, France’s energy future and the public debate about the renewables, which is only just beginning.

Germany resolved to go down the path of its energy transition – the Energiewende. But it became clear very quickly at the Heinrich Böll Foundation’s two-day conference entitled “Energiewende – Think European!” in Berlin, there’s a lot of skepticism about and even deep-seated resentment toward Germany’s energy policies. Poles and the French, Czechs and Brits, in fact most of the EU27, are not on the same page as Germany.

Pakistan is among the most-affected countries by climate change worldwide. At the same time, it has been crippled by a raging energy crisis for the last few years. What needs to be done in order to support and pressurize the government to implement a meaningful policy on climate change and energy?  

Expectations for the climate summit in Doha were so low that it is quite remarkable that the meager results still managed to fall short of them. Many NGOs condemned the conference as a failure. The EU and Germany called it an important step in the right direction. A summary of the results of the climate conference in Doha.

The interactions between natural risks in the Arab region, climate change effects, water scarcity, and lack of food self-sufficiency represent a serious challenge to policies and plans in Arab countries and cities. Over the last three years, climate-related disasters have cast their shadow on around 50 million people in the Arab region.

What were the expectations for COP 17 in Durban in 2011 and what does it mean for COP 18? The climate summit was hosted 2011 by South Africa which is located in a region that stands to be tremendously affected by climate change. This year participants of the summit in Doha must find a solution for financing adaptation as well as making the Green Climate Fund operational. 

Young professionals from the Arab world met in October in Amman for a summer school program conducted by the Heinrich Böll Foundation. In inspiring lectures, several exeptional issues were highlighted, such as climate change and gender, new ways to visualize topics related to climate change, scarcity of water, and adaptation in the MENA region.  

Large-scale wind farms and solar power plants are springing up everywhere one looks. That’s good for the climate, but small-scale farmers and the poor are becoming the pawns of hard-nosed business interests around the world.

Qatar, that faces many problems of climate change that many small island states do, has a golden opportunity to continue demonstrating leadership in the region beyond supporting the different revolutions. As the host of COP 18, Qatar should not only play the host but should also put climate change as the top political priority – now and in the future.

The “startup nation” Israel that exports solar technology abroad and is famous for the early implementation of solar water heaters is failing to implement renewable energy sources at home. Public awareness is low and the government lacks a coherent strategy even though impacts already affect the country: African climate refugees seeking water, food and shelter.

The Arab world has witnessed uprisings from its youth, who are demanding more democratic governance systems, and particularly social justice, which implies both economic and environmental justice. But those regimes remain unaware of the power of the youth, who can deliver solutions for climate change.

In the wake of the Arab Spring, G8 countries and other nations have pledged major sums to stabilize the region. These financial and economic support packages could also fail to stabilize the region. Successfully managing the wide range of risks involved in the region requires addressing vulnerabilities directly in order to turn what will be a low-carbon and resource-constrained future from a risk into an opportunity. 

The Middle East and North Africa region is particularly vulnerable to climate change because of its already scarce water resources, the high levels of aridity, and the long coastal stretch. Adaptation to the impacts of climate change must start from now to build up the resilience of the affected countries and communities within.